Face Down
by Beckyhelene
Summary: Madison finds herself in a situation she never thought she'd be in. Will her friends be able to help her? Will she let them?
1. Hey girl you drive me crazy

Disclaimer: Power Rangers and the elements therein belong to Disney. "Face Down" belongs to Red Jumpsuit Apparatus.

Summary: Madison and Ben have been a seemingly happy couple for weeks. Everyone comments on how cute they look together…..well, almost everyone. But what really goes on when no one else is around?

Note: Well, I've got one story with Ben being an awesome guy (Almost Perfect); let's see what he looks like as something else.

Timeline: Not sure where in the series I want this to fall under. Obviously, it's after Rock Solid. Other than that, I'm totally unsure, heh. I guess it takes place any time after Dark Wish, since there is mention of Legend Mode.

---

_Hey girl you know you drive me crazy  
one look puts the rhythm in my hand.  
Still I'll never understand why you hang around  
I see what's going down._

Nick stood by the back shelves in The Rockporium, watching Madison walk around the store with her camera held out in front of her. He smiled slightly as she seemed to float around the room filming each of her friends. She slowly turned towards the back and smiled when she caught sight of Nick.

"Oh, no," Nick groaned playfully as she approached him.

"Smile for the camera," she said, giggling as Nick tried to cover his face with a CD case. "Come on, Nick," she said, grabbing at the case in his hand as she tried to get a shot of his face. The two erupted into a sort of game as he tried to duck and cover his face and she kept pointing the camera at him. She finally cornered him against the shelf as they continued their game, both laughing uncontrollably.

"Madison," a voice called out to her. Madison stopped and looked over to see Ben standing at the front of the store. Nick's smiling face and happy demeanor quickly disappeared. Madison smiled as she stepped away from Nick and walked over to Ben.

"Hey," she said, throwing her arms around his neck and giving him a quick kiss on the lips. Nick sighed and went back to restocking shelves, as he had been doing before getting distracted by watching Madison. Ben took hold of her elbow as the two walked over to the counter. "What's up?" She asked.

"What was that?" Ben asked.

"What was what?" Madison replied. She jumped slightly when she felt Ben's fingers tighten around her arm.

"You know what," he hissed. "You were all over Nick," Madison stared at Ben with wide eyes, not understanding what was going on.

"Nick's my friend," she said. "We were just playing around,"

"You were flirting with him,"

"No, no, I swear," Madison swore. Ben's grip on her arm slowly loosened. Madison pulled her arm back, softly rubbing the spot he had been holding tightly. She looked up at him and was surprised to see his hard glaring face replaced by his previous loving gaze.

"I'm sorry," he said. He gently pulled her to him and hugged her. He pulled back and gently held her chin between his thumb and forefinger. "It's just that I get jealous sometimes," he told her. "I mean, I saw you two together and I thought-" Madison shook her head lightly.

"You have nothing to worry about," she told him. "I promise." Ben smiled and kissed her gently.

"Well, listen; I'm meeting the guys at the park for some touch football,"

"Oh, are we still going out tonight?" She asked. Ben nodded.

"Of course," he said. "Nothing could keep me from going out with you tonight," he said, planting a gentle kiss against her cheek, causing Madison to giggle gently. "I was just wondering if we could meet at the restaurant instead."

"Of course," Madison said. "I'll just get Vida to drive me there," she said. Ben let go of her chin and held her hand gently, bringing her hand up and kissing the back of her palm.

"Great, see you at 7," he said before leaving. Madison grinned from ear to ear and practically skipped over to where her sister stood by the turntables. Nick sighed and shook his head as he went to stock some shelves where Xander and Chip stood.

"Madison looks really happy, doesn't she?" Xander asked.

"Yeah," Chip said, happy that his longtime friend was happy as he watched her gush with her sister who simply listened as her sister went on happily.

"I don't like that guy," Nick blurted out. Xander and Chip turned and looked at him.

"What?" Chip asked.

"Ben, I don't like him," Nick said. "He just…..gives me a bad vibe,"

"Bad vibe?" Xander asked, raising an eyebrow at his friend in red. Before anyone could reply, they heard the familiar chime of their cell phones. Nick, Xander and Chip looked over to the girls and saw them giving them the same look. The look that said _'time to go_'. The five of them rushed out the door shouting a '"be back in a bit" to their boss as they left.

----

The five teenagers and Daggeron had fought an unusually tough monster. Even in Legend Mode, the enemy seemed to overpower them. But in the end, after a long battle, they persevered.

"Man, that fight was horrendous," Xander groaned as he slumped onto one of the chairs in Rootcore.

"Good job, rangers," Daggeron said, putting a hand on Chip and Nick's shoulders since they were standing near him. "You fought strong and persisted,"

"Ugh, can you tell that to my head? Cause right now, all I'm getting is 'pain, pain, pain'," Vida groaned. Madison nodded, agreeing with her sister as she leaned against Vida's shoulder before bolting upright suddenly.

"What time is it?" She asked.

"Time for a heating pad and large amounts of aspirin," Xander groaned.

"I'm serious," Madison said. Nick checked his watch.

"6:45, why?" He asked. Madison shrieked lightly in response, jumping to her feet.

"I'm going to be late!" She said before running out of Rootcore. The others all looked at each other, confused by what had just happened. "Vida!" Madison yelled from outside.

"I guess that's my cue to leave," Vida said as she got up from her spot on the floor. "See you guys," she said before leaving Rootcore.

----

As soon as Madison and Vida got home, Madison rushed up the stairs to get ready for her date with Ben. Even though she rushed as much as she could, she wasn't able to finish until 7:15. Vida drove Madison to the restaurant where they saw Ben waiting outside.

"Man, I can't believe I'm so late," Madison sighed.

"Hey, the guy's crazy about you, as soon as he sees you he'll forget all about time," she said, giving her sister a smile. Madison smiled and climbed out of the car, waving her sister goodbye as Vida drove home. Madison jogged towards Ben as fast as her shoes would allow.

"I'm so sorry I'm late," she said as she reached Ben, kissing him on the cheek.

"Where were you?" He asked.

"I'm so sorry, Toby asked me to close up the shop tonight," she said. Ben's eyes narrowed as he glared at him.

"You were with **him**, weren't you?" Ben asked. Madison looked at him.

"Who? Ben, I wasn't with anyone. I had to stay late at the store and then go home and get ready," she said.

"You're lying," Ben growled. He fiercely grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the restaurant to an empty part of the street. "Don't lie to me,"

"I'm not lying," Madison said, stumbling slightly from having to walk so briskly with her shoes. "Ben, you're hurting my arm," she said, trying to pry his fingers off her arm. "Why don't we just go in the restaurant, have a nice dinner, and just forget about this?" Her heel caught on an uneven part of the sidewalk as Ben kept pulling her along and she fell, her arm slipping out of Ben's grasp as her cheek slammed into the sidewalk. "Ow," Madison said. She slowly pushed herself up into a sitting position. She felt a stinging on her cheek as she pulled her arm up and saw she had skinned the back of her arm as she fell.

"Get up," Ben ordered. Madison looked up at him.

"Ben, will you stop it?" She pleaded. "God, you made me fall down," she muttered, looking at her arm. She nearly shrieked when she felt Ben grab her by her shoulders and yank her to her feet.

"What did you say to me?" He demanded. Madison looked at him and saw the same hard glare from earlier that day. The look seemed to scare her more than any monster that crawled out from the Darkness.

"I…I'm sorry, I didn't mean that," she stammered. "Can we please just go and enjoy our date?" She asked.

"What date?" Ben said. "You ruined it. You ruin everything, Madison," he sneered. Before Madison had time to defend herself in anyway, she felt Ben's hand fly across her already sore cheek. Madison gasped and stumped away from him, staring at him with scared eyes as she held her hand over her cheek. She looked down as tears collected in her eyes.

"Oh….Oh god, Madison," she heard Ben whispered. "I…I'm so sorry," she looked up and saw the hateful gleam had vanished from his eyes. He went to pull her into a hug but Madison quickly stepped away.

"No," she said. "No, don't you dare," she said.

"Madison, I…I didn't mean to hit you," he said.

"I want to go home," she said, not bringing herself to look at him. Ben gave her a shaky nod.

"Okay," he said. "I'll drive you home," he went and gently took hold of her arm to lead her to where he parked his car. Madison snatched her arm away from him and simply followed him to the car. He opened the passenger side door for her and put a hand on the small of her back as she slid in. Madison gave him a cold tear-filled stare and he quickly pulled his hand back before going over to the driver's side. The drive to Madison's house was in complete silence. Madison tilted her body towards the passenger door and stared out the window while Ben occasionally glanced at her. When he finally pulled up to the house, he shut off the car and reached over to her, stroking his hand against her dark hair. "I'm so sorry," he said. "I..." Madison quickly opened the door and slammed it shut behind her as she left the car and walked to her house. She entered the house, not even bothering to look if he was still there.

"Maddie? What are you doing back so soon?" Madison turned towards the living room where she saw Vida sprawled on the couch watching TV. "Oh my god," she said, catching sight of her sister. "What happened?" Madison swallowed back her tears as she lightly touched her cheek. The skin seemed to burn under her touch as it felt raw and chafed.

"I….I fell," she said, her voice small and meek. Vida shut off the TV and walked to her. Madison blinked and put on a tight smile. "I'm such a klutz," she said. "After you left, I was walking over to Ben and my heel slipped on the curb, I did a total face plant," she said. Her insides burned at the lie but a part of her was ashamed to tell her sister what had actually happened. Vida gently took hold of Madison's chin and turned her face to get a better look of her cheek.

"Yeesh," she said sympathetically. She lifted Madison's wounded arm and saw her injuries there as well. "That must've been some fall," she said.

"Yeah," she said. Vida put an arm around her sister's shoulders.

"Come on, let's get you cleaned up," she said as she led Madison to the bathroom.


	2. You Cry Alone And He Swears He Loves You

Disclaimer: looks around Nope, still don't own anything.

Author's note: I meant to have this up earlier today. I went to the dentist and ended up taking a nap when I got home….a very long nap, so I kinda sorta just woke up, lol. Anyway, thanks so much everyone for your reviews.

---

_Cover up with make up in the mirror  
tell yourself it's never gonna happen again  
you cry alone and then he swears he loves you._

Madison woke up the next morning at the sound of her alarm clock going off. She rolled off of her bed and onto her feet before shuffling to the bathroom as she tiredly scratched her head. She grabbed her toothbrush and began to brush her teeth, her sleepy form going into automatic routine mode. After she finished brushing her teeth, she caught sight of herself in the mirror. The unfamiliar sight that greeted her caused her drooping eyes to open fully. A part of her had thought that what had gone on outside of the restaurant last night hadn't really happened….like it was a dream or something like that. But seeing the patch of red rough chaffed skin on her face told her otherwise. On the edge of the wound on her face, she could see further redness on her delicate skin from where Ben had hit her. She looked down as a tear slipped down her cheek at the memory of when he struck her.

"Hey, how does it look?" Vida asked as she seemed to appear right beside Madison. Madison wiped away her tear and looked up, gazing at her sister's reflection in the mirror. Vida winced at the unsightly mark on her sister's face. "Eeash," she said. She then gave Madison a smile through her reflection. "Well, lucky for you, your darling sister is pretty handy with a makeup brush, come on," she said, taking Madison's hand and gently pulling her back to their bedroom.

---

"You know what's better than having to work bright and early on a Saturday morning?" Xander asked, his voice dripping with sarcasm as he and Chip approached The Rockporium together. "Having to do it while still feeling sore all over from yesterday," he said as he slid the key into the lock on the door. Toby had told Xander at the start of the teen's shift the previous day that he had a dentist appointment and would need him to open up the store.

"Hey guys," Nick said as he climbed off his motorcycle and joined his friends. The three of them entered the store and began setting everything up for the brand new day.

"So, Xander, what time did Toby say he'd get here?" Chip asked.

"Not sure. He seemed kind of uneasy about the whole dentist thing, something tells me our dear boss is in for a long session," Xander replied. "So, until then, I'm in charge," he said, smiling brightly as he grabbed a magazine and sat on one of the armchairs in the store. Nick and Chip groaned and rolled their eyes as they continued what they were doing.

"Supervising again, huh Xand?" Vida asked as she and Madison walked in.

"But of course," Xander smiled as he flipped through the magazine. Vida rolled her eyes as she made her way to the turntables and began making her music selections for the day. Madison kept her head ducked with her hair falling over her face as she made her way to the backroom to get the register tray. Nick watched as she disappeared into the room before passing Vida some records she had asked for. Madison picked up the plastic tray and held it against her stomach as she made her way to the register. On her way out of the back room, she bumped her injured arm against the door jam. She dropped the tray and held her arm to her. "Maddie, you okay?" Xander asked as he got up from his chair. Madison nodded.

"Yeah, just bumped my arm," she said. Xander leaned down and picked up the tray for her. "Thanks," she said. She went to take it from him when he noticed the redness under her forearm. He set the tray down on one of the shelves and lightly took hold of her arm.

"Whoa, what happened?" He asked, "is that from just now?" Madison quickly pulled her arm away.

"I fell," she said, picking up the discarded tray and walking to the register.

"Is something wrong?" He asked. Madison shook her head as she inserted the try into the register. Xander peered down at her and pulled back her hair to see her face. "You're wearing make-up," Xander observed. Madison shook her head again and let her hair fall lose from his hand.

"Just trying something knew with my look," she said.

"I think she looks great," Vida said, walking over to them. "Hey, Mads, can you punch me in for the day when you do yours?" She asked.

"Sure, let me go do that now," Madison said as she slid past Xander and went back to the backroom. Vida looked at Xander.

"She fell down yesterday," Vida said. "In front of Ben. She's already embarrassed about it enough as it is, don't make it worse," she warned.

"All right, all right," Xander said. "Guess I'll just go back to supervising," he smirked as he went back to his chair. Vida rolled her eyes and went back to the turntables. After that, the day went on as normal, the five of them assisting the customers and occasionally talking with each other. Nick noticed that Madison was acting a little different. She seemed too preoccupied with hiding her face with her hair and just in general, her whole demeanor looked off. Nick had seen Xander talk to Madison earlier that day so he approached his Australian friend as he was busy flirting with a pack of giggling blondes.

"Uh, Xander, mind if I talk to you for a second?" Nick asked. Xander looked at his friend and then back at the girls. He gave them a charming smile before winking at them, which seemed to only increase their giggles.

"Don't go anywhere," he said. The girls smiled back at him.

"We won't," one of them said in a sing song voice. Xander and Nick walked over to the back shelves together.

"What's up?" Xander asked.

"I was just wondering if you knew what was wrong with Maddie," Nick said. Xander's brows furrowed in confusion.

"Wrong with her?" He asked. He simply shrugged. "Vida said she fell down yesterday, I guess she got pretty hurt or something. Her arm looks pretty skinned,"

"She fell down?" Nick said, not understanding why a fall would change her so much.

"Yeah, V said it was in front of Ben," Xander said, casting a look at Madison. "Poor girl, it probably ruined her date or something," Xander mused gently. At the mention of Ben's name Nick couldn't help but feel a certain tightening inside of him.

"Oh," was all he said before leaving Xander to return to the girls. A while later, the door to the store opened to reveal Ben walking in. He caught sight of Madison ringing up customers at the register and walked over to her. Madison looked up and saw him before quickly looking down at the counter.

"Uh…thank you for……uh……shopping at Rockporium, please come again," she said to the customer she was handing their bag to in a small voice.

"Maddie," Ben said, standing next to the next customer on line. "Can we talk?"

"I'm sorry, I'm kind of busy," she said softly.

"Hey, I've got it," Chip said, coming behind the counter next to her. He put a hand on her back. "Go on," he smiled. Madison looked up at her friend.

"Oh…….okay..." she said. She slowly walked out from behind the counter and over to Ben. He took her hand and led her outside. Once they were outside, Madison snatched her hand away from him and fixed him with a cold glare.

"What is it?" She asked. Ben looked down.

"Okay, you have every reason to be mad at me," Ben said. "But, I…..I just wanted to tell you how sorry I am," Madison looked away. Ben gently reached out to her hand turned her face back to him. "I swear Maddie; I never meant to do that to you last night,"

"Yeah, but you did," Madison said, her eyes filling up with tears again. "You hurt me,"

"I know," Ben said. "I…..God, I can't believe I did that. It……..it felt like it wasn't even me. Like, I was outside of my body or something and watching this go on," he pulled her closer. "Are you okay?" He asked. Madison hesitated before nodding slowly.

"I…..I told Vida that I tripped on the curb," she said. Ben folded his arms around her, making her rest her cheek against his chest and tuck her head under his chin. He lowered his head and planted a soft kiss on the side of her forehead.

"Come here, I want to show you something," he said. He released her and took her hand in his car that was parked at the corner. Madison stood on the sidewalk as he reached to get something out of his car. He came back out with a long black velvet box. Madison looked at the item with questioning eyes before Ben slowly opened it to reveal a medium sized glittering blue heart shaped pendant on a silver chain.

"Oh……oh wow," Madison breathed out. "It's beautiful,"

"You're beautiful," Ben told her. He smiled. "So, I guess it's only fitting that it should go around your neck," he said. Madison's eyes widened.

"For me?" She asked. Ben nodded. Madison had never had a boy give her a present before…….because, in fact, she had never had a boyfriend, so there she was, standing in shock as he slowly peeled the chain out from the box and placed the empty box on the hood of his car. He held it out open in front of her. "Oh," Madison said, understanding what he wanted. She held her hair up and turned her back to him. She felt his arms go around her neck as he put the necklace on her and snapped it shut before planting a tender kiss on the side of her neck. He put a hand on her shoulder and turned her around before going and getting more things from his car. He came back out with a large blue teddy bear with white lace tied around its neck in a bow in one hand and a bouquet of roses in the other. Madison covered her mouth, surprised by all this.

"Oh my god, Ben," she said. She took the bear from it and held it to her. "It's so adorable," she took the flowers from him and smelled them. "Ben, you're spoiling me," she said. Ben grinned.

"Good, you deserve to be spoiled," he said. He leaned over and kissed her. "I love you," he said. Madison smiled brightly at him. That was another thing that had never happened to the young blue ranger.

"Really?" She asked. Ben nodded and smiled at her.

"Really," he said. "I love you." Madison kissed him.

"I love you too," she said. Ben's smile got wider as he planted a sweet kiss on the tip of her nose.

"Well, I've got to go. Chemistry exam on Monday, need to study," he said. "Just wanted to come see you before engaging in the torture that is studying." Madison giggled.

"I'll call you tonight," she said. Ben nodded and the two joined in for one last kiss before he got in his car and left. Madison smiled brightly as she made her way back to the store. The others saw her practically float in the room with her things as she went to the backroom. Vida smiled at the sight of her sister and went to the backroom. She saw Madison put the teddy bear and flowers on the table by her things.

"Wow," Vida said. Madison turned to her sister; her smile seemed to reach her ears.

"Ben gave these to me, and this," she said, showing her sister the necklace on her neck. Vida groaned.

"Oh my god, you have such a great boyfriend. Can I steal him from you?" She asked. Madison laughed.

"He wanted to make sure I was okay, after yesterday," she said.

"Oh, he wanted to see you were okay from the fall? That's so sweet," Vida said. Madison only smiled. She had almost forgotten about what had really happened the night before. Ben's gifts and his words seemed to make up for everything. _Well, I did fall down,_ she told herself. _And he said he was sorry._

"I know," Madison said. "And guess what else?"

"What?"

"He told me he loves me," she said. Vida's eyes grew wide and she rushed over, pulling her sister into a hug.

"Oh, Maddie! I'm so happy for you!" She said. Madison laughed as she hugged her sister back. She felt so happy. She felt good. The previous night had just been a simple bump in her and Ben's relationship. Madison knew things would be perfect.

Nick watched as the two sisters came out of the backroom. His eyes became trained solely on the long haired sister. He noticed that her previous sad and meek demeanor had been changed and she was back to smiling and laughing like normal. He sighed to himself. He was glad that Madison was feeling better and was happy again…….but he also wished he was the one having that effect on the blue ranger instead of Ben.


	3. As Your Lies Crumble Down

Disclaimer: Nope. Show ain't mine, and neither is the song.

---

_Do you feel like a man  
when you push her around?  
Do you feel better now as she falls to the ground?  
Well I'll tell you my friend, one day this world's going to end  
as your lies crumble down, a new life she has found._

Unfortunately for Madison, the small "bump" in her and Ben's relationship seemed to happen again and again as time went on. For about two weeks after the first time he struck her, things were perfect between them. Madison actually believed that perhaps that one single night had just been a bad night for Ben and he had been dealing with stress. She felt loved and happy. He told her he loved her every day and would stop by the store with a single rose for her. Vida and the female customers would watch enviously as he'd pop up next to her as she worked and handed her a rose, kissing her cheek. They all would smile at the two and mutter or think about how they wished they had a boyfriend like that. Chip and Xander would watch on with amusement as Madison's face would light up and she'd throw her arms around Ben's neck, giving him a kiss when she accepted it. Nick, on the other hand, watched on with large amounts of jealousy.

But, after those two weeks, things seemed to change. Every time he got angry with her, he'd call her names and insult her, and some time after that, he brought in the violence. He'd pinch her arm, leaving a red welt on her skin, or he'd shove her, hit her, there had even been an occasion or two where he punched her on her back. She would cry and swear to herself she wouldn't let it happen again but then the next day he'd give her a gift, apologize and tell her he loved her. And she'd forgive him. As this went on, the others were starting to worry about Madison. Even Daggeron, Udonna and Clare were noticing a change. No one knew about what was happening. Madison would always come up with a lie if she was asked about any visible marks. Madison told herself there was no way she could tell anyone what was happening. The shame was too great. How could she, the Blue Mystic Force Ranger, let herself get beaten by just one man? She was supposed to be strong and powerful. But, every time Ben looked at her, that power seemed to almost drain out of her, leaving an invisible puddle at her feet.

At first, Ben's fits of rage were about his jealousy. He'd see her talking with her male friends or even a male customer and as soon as he got her alone, he'd make jealous demands and strike her. But then his anger seemed to expand to just the slightest of things. He was like a sensitive ticking time bomb chained to Madison's neck. She didn't know when or how he'd go off, but she couldn't seem to get away from him.

"Something's wrong with Madison," Vida said. It was a Friday night and Vida was practicing her incantations in Rootcore with Chip, Xander and Nick.

"Yeah," Chip said. He looked at Xander and Nick. "Has she been acting weird around you guys lately?" He asked.

"What do you mean?" Xander asked.

"Well, the other night, I was out and I saw her and Ben in line at the movie theatre across the street. I called out to them as they were walking into the theatre and said hi but they didn't even look at me,"

"Well, maybe they didn't hear you," Vida shrugged.

"Maybe," Chip said. Xander shook his head.

"Now that you mention it, Maddie's been a little weird with me too," Xander said. "I talked to her in school yesterday and she barely looked at me."

"At least she's talking to you," Nick said. He looked down, trying to hide his sadness. "She hasn't said a word to me in over a week."

"She's probably getting into that whole overly together stage with Ben," Vida said. "I mean, he has been spending a lot of time in the store with her. I swear, one of these days, Toby's just going to hire him so he's at least doing something instead of just taking up space in the store."

"You're probably right," Chip said.

"Do you think they're……ya know…." Xander asked, his voice trailing off. The others looked at him.

"What? No, no way," Vida said, shaking her head. "She would've told me if she had," she said, knowing that her bond with her sister was strong.

"Who would've told you what?" Madison asked as she entered the wooded fortress. They all looked up to her. She walked over and took a seat next to her sister.

"Uh, mom," Vida blurted out, not wanting her sister to know they had just been talking about her. "I……had a bottle of hair dye in our room and I can't seem to find it…I'm just saying that mom would've told me if she had thrown it out or something,"

"Oh," Madison said as she opened up a book of spells and started reading.

"Maddie, what happened to your lip?" Xander asked. Madison kept her head down and idly touched her lower lip. She could feel a rough patch at the corner; she figured it must've looked blotchy and red to the others. She lifted her head slightly but kept her eyes on the table.

"Oh, its nothing. I just bit my lip by accident earlier," she said.

"You seem to be having a lot of accidents lately," Chip said. Madison lifted her eyes slightly, looking at Chip's chest. She gave a short laugh.

"Oh Chip, you've figured me out. I've been getting beat up for my lunch money everyday by some bully," she joked. She lowered her eyes again; afraid that they'd see that was but so far from the truth.

"You have?" Chip asked, astonished.

"Chip, she's joking," Xander laughed.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Nick asked. Madison didn't respond. She looked at her sister.

"I'm probably just….having low iron in my blood or something. Maybe that's making me just a little more klutzy.."

"Yeah," Vida said. "We can stop at the health food store later and get some vitamins," she offered. Madison nodded. She looked at the mark on her sister's lip. "You should really put something on that," she said. "My bag's in the other room. I've got some chap stick."

"Okay," Madison got up and left the room in search of her sister's things. Nick sighed once Madison was out of the room.

"See what I mean?" He asked.

"What?" Vida asked.

"I asked if she was okay and she just started talking to you," Nick replied.

"She probably just thought of the whole iron thing, jeez, quit being so sensitive," Vida replied. Nick rolled his eyes.

"Are you guys being totally clueless?" He asked. The other three looked at him.

"What?" Chip asked.

"Do I need to spell it out for you guys?" Nick huffed. He shook his head and leaned back, bringing his eyes onto Vida. "Was your sister having accidents like this before Ben came along?" Vida's eyes widened.

"What are you saying, Nick?" She asked.

"I think you know what I'm saying," Nick replied. Vida's eyes narrowed and she got up to her feet.

"You better hope I don't," she threatened.

"Whoa, V, calm down," Xander said, trying to play peacemaker.

"I'm just saying what you all are too blind to see," Nick shot back. This time all three of them glared at him.

"Excuse me?" Chip asked.

"My sister is not like that, Nick," Vida said. As she spoke, Madison was about to come back into the room but stopped when she heard them talking about her.

"Well, I've never known her to be accident prone," Nick retorted. "This is going on right in front of your face and you don't acknowledge it,"

"Whoa, listen, Biker Boy," Xander snapped. "We've all known Madison a lot longer than you have. Vida's right. She's too strong for that to happen to her. So maybe you should just get your head out of those little TV movies of the week and shut up." Madison leaned against the wall as shameful tears slid down her face. She quickly wiped them away with her fists and took a deep breath.

"You're just jealous that Madison's with Ben, you're just looking for an excuse to not like him," Vida said. Nick looked at her.

"And what's that supposed to mean?"

"You know very well what that means," Vida said. "We've all seen the way you look at her. Admit it, you like her,"

"And so what if I do?" Nick blurted out without thinking.

"Look Nick, Madison's happy right now. If you have a thing for my sister, that's your issue. But that doesn't mean you can go on making up little stories in your head and making false assumptions. I swear Nick, if you do anything to mess this up for her, I'll-"

"Forget it," Nick huffed. "I'm out of here," he got up from the table to go get his things from the other room when he saw Madison walk into the room. "Maddie…" he breathed out, wondering she had heard all that.

"So, is that what you guys do when I'm not around? Talk about me and Ben?" Madison asked, looking at the four of them.

"No, of course not," Chip said.

"Because, I'm sure there's much more interesting topics of discussion out there," she snapped. She glared at Nick. "And you, how dare you say those things about Ben?" Nick sighed. _Oh great, the first time she talks to me in over a week and she's mad at me._ Nick got up and went over to her.

"I'm just worried about you," he said. "I care about you and-"

"Yeah, I can see that," she spat out. _Great, she did hear that, _Nick thought sarcastically.

"I-"

"You know, maybe you should just leave," Madison said. "Leave Rootcore, leave Briarwood." Nick stared at her with hurt-filled eyes upon hearing that. A part of Madison regretted those words, but another part just made her keep glaring at him. _It's all his fault,_ she told herself. _He's the one making Ben upset and making him jealous all the time. It's his fault. _"Ben loves me," Madison went on to say. "He cares about me. If you cared about me at all you'd just butt out of my life!" She yelled, tears coming to her eyes again.

"What's going on here?" Came Daggeron's voice as he walked into the room with Udonna and Clare behind him.

"Nothing," Nick said, his eyes still trained on Madison. "I was just leaving," he walked past Madison and got his book bag from the other room. He paused before returning to the main room, standing back as wave after wave of sadness washed over him. He took a deep breath and walked back into the room, storming towards the door.

"Nick," Clare called after him. Nick ignored her and left.

"What was that all about?" Udonna asked.

"Nothing," Madison said as she took her seat next to Vida. Xander, Chip and Vida simply looked at her, all feeling a little surprised that she had said those things to Nick. Of course, they were all mad at him too….but neither of them felt enough anger to actually tell him to leave.

-----

Later on that night, the Rocca sisters were walking around the local health food store. Vida watched her sister as she walked ahead of her down the aisles. Nick's accusations of Ben earlier had originally filled the pink ranger with anger. How dare Nick say those things? It wasn't so much because of Ben, but Vida knew deep in her heart that Madison would never let herself be hurt like that. But, nonetheless, Nick's words had been successful in planting a seed of doubt in her mind. As the two sisters came across the vitamin aisle, Vida peered closely at her sister.

"Maddie," she said.

"Yeah?"

"You'd tell me if something was wrong, right?" She asked. Madison paused and looked at her sister.

"Is this about what Nick said?" She asked. "Vida, it's like you said. He's just making up stuff because he's jealous," she assured her.

"I…I know, I just……you'd tell me right?" Vida asked. Madison sighed.

"Yes," she said. "But there's nothing wrong, I swear." Vida smiled.

"Okay," she said. "Oh, here," she said as she found the iron supplements and handed a box to her sister.

"Thanks," she said. They went and paid for the item before going home.


	4. I See What's Going Down

Disclaimer: You know the drill…

Note: I finally decided that the story takes place somewhere after Dark Wish but before Heir Apparent since I'm not having Udonna address Nick as her son and Imperious is still around.

----

_A pebble in the water makes a ripple effect  
every action in this world will bear a consequence  
If you wade around forever you will surely drown  
I see what's going down._

The following day, the five teenagers began their shift at The Rockporium. It seemed like a night of sleep and a whole day of school had done little to remedy the situation as Nick saw the others giving him an occasional glare. Nick rolled his eyes and went to Madison, who was restocking shelves in the back.

"Can we talk?" He asked. Madison didn't even look at him as she continued working.

"I don't think there's anything to talk about," she replied. Nick crouched down next to her and started helping her work. "I can do it on my own," she said.

"I know you can," Nick replied. "I just thought I'd help," he said. They worked in silence, reaching into the box between them and putting the CDs on the shelf. After a while, he took her hand as she reached into the box. Madison flinched and tried to pull her hand away but he held her. "Look, I'm sorry about yesterday, okay?" He said. Madison looked away. He groaned. "Okay, maybe you're right," he said. "Maybe I am a little jealous. Maybe I was just…..letting that go wild and……it just made me think stupid things," he said. A part of him groaned as he said these words. He didn't want to say them, he didn't want to admit any wrongdoings on his part but that same part also hated seeing her and the others mad at him. He'd do anything if it meant he could fix things.

"Fine," she said coldly. Nick sighed and let go of her hand and simply went back to helping her. "I……I'm sorry too," she finally said. Nick chanced a look at her, but she was just keeping her eyes on the shelf as she spoke. "I shouldn't have said you should leave town," Nick smiled briefly to himself. _Well, at least she's not too mad at me anymore._

"Thanks," he said. Suddenly, the familiar chime of their phones was heard. Nick and Madison stood up and joined the others as they left the store. As they were leaving, they saw Ben approaching the store.

"Hey, what's going on?" He asked.

"Toby just asked us to go get some stuff for the store," Madison said, giving him a quick kiss in greeting. She went to go off with the others but Ben took her hand and held her back.

"All of you?" He asked suspiciously.

"It's a lot of stuff," Chip said.

"Well, hey, let me help," he offered.

"We're fine, but thanks," Nick said, trying his best to reign in his hostility. Vida went over and put her hands on her sister's shoulders.

"Don't worry, Romeo, we'll bring your Juliet back in no time, promise," She said, pulling Madison away. Ben let go and watched as they ran off before walking into the store.

---

The five rangers and Daggeron faced off against another one of Imperious' monsters. It had knocked each of the rangers down, giving a hearty laugh at their predicament.

"Foolish humans," the monster laughed. "You are nothing compared to my power,"

"Wanna bet?" Vida said as she and Madison climbed up to their feet and charged at the beast. The sisters fought the being together, clasping hands and pulling each other forward to deliver staggering kicks at the creature. The monster growled as he grabbed Vida's foot as she went to kick her. "Hey, let go!" She yelled. The monster laughed as he used her leg to throw her to the side, making her crash into Chip and Xander.

"You okay?" Chip asked as he helped her up.

"Uh huh," she replied. Madison faced off alone against the creature, using her staff to beat him. The monster grabbed the staff and kept her from striking again. Madison grunted as she tried to pull it free. The monster slammed her mammoth hand into the blue ranger's chest, releasing the staff as she flew backwards and hit the ground hard.

"Maddie!" Vida exclaimed. Madison rubbed the sore spot on her chest and tried to get up but was stopped when the monster slammed his foot into the small of her back.

"AGHHHHHHHHHH!" Madison screamed in agony as she fell flat onto the ground, her morph disintegrating in her weakened state.

"NO!" Nick hollered as he ran between the monster and his fallen friend. "Get away from her!" The others joined and fought the beast as Nick crouched down beside Madison. "Maddie? Maddie are you okay?" He asked. She lay on her stomach on the ground, her nails scratching on the rocky surface as she tried to get up. Nick could hear soft whimpers coming from her. "Just stay down, it'll be okay," he soothed. The other rangers soon disposed of the beast, their anger fueling their attack. Once the monster was dealt with, they all gathered around Madison and Nick.

"Maddie," Vida said worriedly. She kneeled down and gently turned her sister to her side. She could see tears of pain collecting in her eyes.

"Come, let us get her to Rootcore," Daggeron said. Nick gently pulled Madison's arm around his shoulders before he scooped her off the ground and stood up. Madison buried her face into Nick's chest and looped her other arm around his chest as well.

"Its okay, Madison," Nick whispered. "You're going to be okay,"

--------

"What happened?" Udonna gasped as she saw the six rangers quickly enter Rootcore, Madison in Nick's arms.

"Maddie's hurt," Chip said. "That thing practically stomped on her back."

"Bring her here," Udonna said, directing Nick to the cot near the wall. Nick gently set Madison on her stomach, careful not to hurt her back.

"Is she going to be okay?" Vida asked, worried for her sister.

"Let me see," she said. Udonna lifted the bottom of the white cotton tunic under Madison's vest.

"No!" Madison exclaimed, one of her hands flying back as she tried to stop the sorceress.

"Madison, I must see where you were hurt," Udonna said gently. Vida walked over to her sister and sat by her head, taking her hand in hers.

"Its okay, sis, she's going to help," she said. Madison closed her eyes as more tears leaked out. Vida looked at Udonna and nodded for her to continue. Udonna lifted the back of the shirt, folding the end over the bottom of the vest. She gasped at what she saw. "What is it?" Vida asked. The others gathered around and Vida stood up to see what had surprised Udonna. There, on the small of Madison's back was a large splotchy bruise. It expanded across the small plane as if it was a tattoo of some sort. There was redness on the skin around the bruise from where the beast had kicked the blue ranger.

"I did not realize how serious her injuries were," Udonna said. Madison squeezed her eyes shut as even more tears leaked out. She knew exactly what they had been looking at. It was a fairly new bruise that had been inflicted upon her by Ben after she spilled a drink on his living room carpet as the two of them sat watching a DVD together. The monster's strike had further aggravated the sensitive muscle tissue in the poor girl's back. Vida went back to where she had been sitting and took Madison's hand in hers again. "Clare," Udonna said, calling for her apprentice.

"Yes, Udonna?"

"Go outside and gather some avandra leaves, please," she requested.

"Yes, Udonna," the blonde girl said as she left the fortress. Udonna leaned over and gently stroked Madison's hair. "It's all right, child," she said.

"Is she going to be okay?" Chip asked.

"Yes, Chip," Daggeron said, putting a hand on the young man's shoulder. "Avandra leaves will soothe some of Madison's pain and aid her recovery,"

"Sooth? You mean like aloe?" Xander asked.

"Somewhat," Daggeron said. Clare soon returned with a basket full of large rubbery leaves and placed it by Udonna.

"Thank you," Udonna said. Clare nodded and stepped back. Udonna stood up and picked one of the leaves from the basket. "Madison, this may sting a little," she told her. She slowly placed the leaf onto Madison's back. Madison whimpered as the object made contact with her skin. It felt like someone had dropped an entire bottle of rubbing alcohol onto an open wound. Nick walked over to where Vida sat and took Madison's other hand in his. Udonna smoothed her hand over the back of the leaf, making sure it covered as much as it could before reaching for another one. Madison whimpered again and clenched her hands, tightening her hold on Vida and Nick's hands. Vida couldn't help it as tears entered her eyes over her sister's pain. She stroked Madison's head with her free hand.

"It's all right, Maddie," she whispered gently. Udonna placed another leaf on Madison's back before lowering the bottom of the tunic and stepping back.

"She will be all right after a night of rest," she told her worried companions.

"Are you sure?" Nick asked. She nodded.

"Can I take her home?" Vida asked.

"Yes, but be careful," she said.

"Here, I'll help," Xander said. He stepped forward and carefully scooped Madison up in his arms. Vida and Nick let her go as she curled into Xander's embrace. Vida got up and followed as Xander carried her sister out of Rootcore.

"I'm coming with you guys," Nick said, following Vida. Vida spun around to face him and put her hand on his chest, stopping him where he stood.

"No, Nick," she said. "Just go home,"

"But-"

"Please," Vida pleaded. Nick stepped back.

"Fine," he said.

"Thank you," Vida turned and followed Xander out.

---

After the three of them emerged from one of the trees behind The Rockporium, careful not to be seen, Xander carried Madison over to Vida's car and gently placed her in the back seat, making sure to put her on her side so she wouldn't put any weight on her back. Vida looked at Xander.

"Can you come home with us?" She asked. "I don't….I don't think I can carry her into the house," Xander nodded.

"Oh, there you are. Where in the world did you go?" Xander and Vida turned to the back entrance of the store where they saw Toby carrying trash bags to the dumpster. "You know, the next time you guys play a disappearing act, mind not involving me? Or at least tell me so I know what's going on? That Ben guy came in and asked me about the errand I sent you guys on……funny thing, I had no idea what he was talking about." He approached the car and saw Madison lying in the back. "What happened?" He asked.

"Madison's just not feeling well right now, boss," Xander said. "She had some….bad shrimp last night. Terrible food poisoning,"

"Oh man," Toby said. "Was it at that place downtown? I thought their fish tasted kind of funny,"

"Uh yeah, we're just going to take her home," Xander said. Toby sighed and shook his head.

"Don't worry about work, just take care of Madison," he said. Vida smiled.

"Thanks Tobes, you're the best," she said as she climbed into the driver's seat of her car.

"Yeah, man. The best," Xander agreed as he got into the passenger side. Toby watched them drive off.

"Yeah, unfortunately, that's the very thing that's going to bankrupt me," he muttered, lamenting over his extreme kindness ant patience regarding his employees.

---

Xander helped Vida carry Madison into the house and up to the girls' room. He set Madison down on her bed and stepped back.

"All right, I should probably change her into her night clothes," Vida said.

"Right," Xander said. Vida looked at him. "Oh, right, right," he said. "I should probably head home anyway," he said.

"Thanks Xander," Vida said. Xander put a friendly hand on Vida's shoulder and nodded as he left. Vida took a deep breath and carefully began changing her sister's clothes. She took a night shirt from her sister's dresser and placed in on the bed before she guided her up to a sitting position, which caused Madison to whimper. "I know, I know," Vida said gently. "I just need to change you, I'm sorry." She stood there and let Madison lean against her stomach as she carefully pulled off her shirt. Vida felt like a mother trying to change a sleepy child. She discarded the shirt and slid the night shirt above Madison's head. Madison weakly stuck her arms through the arm holes and pulled the shirt the rest of the way down before laying on her side as Vida took off her shoes and pants before laying the covers over her. Madison pulled the covers up to her chin and seemed to almost burrow under the warm cotton embrace. "Do you need anything?" Vida asked. Madison shook her head. "Are you sure? How about I get you some water? Milk? Juice? Something to eat?"

"…..I guess water would be okay," Madison said meekly.

"Okay," Vida said. She leaned down and kissed the top of her sister's head. "Everything's going to be okay," she promised as she left the room. Vida closed the door behind her and leaned against it, fresh tears filling her eyes. That bruise looked to wide and colorful to just have been when Madison was kicked by the monster. She looked down as the seed of doubt in her mind began to grow ever so slowly. _Why didn't Madison tell me she got hurt? Did she fall down? What happened? Was Nick right? Is Ben…….No, no, that can't be it. No, that bruise was just from today, it had to be. _Vida wiped at her cheeks and went to the kitchen to get Madison some water. Just as she pulled the cup out of the cabinet, there was a knock on the door. Vida set the glass on the kitchen counter and went to the front door. The second she opened it, Nick brushed past her as he paced into the living room.

"Look Vida, I know you're mad at me and I know you told me to go home but I can't, okay? Madison's just as important to me as she is to the rest of you and I can't just go home and act like everything's fine," he ranted.

"Okay," she said.

"What?" Nick asked.

"Okay," Vida repeated. She sighed and walked to the kitchen, Nick followed. "You're right, I was still mad at you before, but…..you protected her out there when she was down."

"Thanks," he said. Vida gave a rueful chuckle.

"I should be thanking you. Who knows what else that freak would've done to her if you hadn't gotten to her," she said.

"Can I go see her?" Nick asked. Vida nodded. She filled the nearly forgotten glass with water and handed it to him.

"Take this to her," she said. Nick nodded and went up the stairs as Vida sat down at the kitchen table. Nick slowly walked into the room and approached the bed.

"Hey," he said. Madison looked up at him. "How are you feeling?" He asked, setting the glass of water on the nightstand and sitting next to Madison on the edge of the bed.

"Okay. I think the leaves are starting to work," she said.

"That's good," he said. He gently touched her face and tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. "Maddie,"

"Yeah?"

"How did you get that bruise on your back?"

"What are you talking about? The monster kicked me," she said.

"No," Nick said. "Maddie, that bruise looks like its a few days old,"

"………..I fell,"

"Maddie," Nick said, not believing her.

"What? I fell on the stairs at school," she said.

"Maddie,"

"Hey," said a voice. Nick looked at the door and saw Ben standing there.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Nick demanded.

"I could ask you the same question," Ben retorted. He looked at Madison.

"Hey, honey, are you okay?" He asked. Madison nodded against her pillow.

"Yeah," she said. "I picked up a heavy box of CDs earlier; I think I pulled a muscle in my back." Nick looked down at her.

"I thought you said you fell," he said. Madison looked away.

"Hey man, mind leaving my girlfriend alone?" Ben said. Nick didn't move as he continued to look down at her.

"Maddie, just-"

"Nick, please just go," Madison pleaded. Nick sighed.

"Fine," he said as he got up. Ben made his way to the bed, bumping his shoulder into Nick's as they passed each other. Nick stopped and turned to Ben. He looked at him, his eyes daring him to do something. Nick simply turned back around and left the room. Ben sat down next to Madison and leaned over, covering her mouth in a kiss.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Ben asked. Madison nodded. He stroked her head. "All right," he said. He ran his hand down her face and down to her shoulders, sliding her comforter down to her arm. His hand stopped at the side of her upper arm. "Maddie," he said.

"Mmmhmm?" Madison asked.

"Toby said he didn't send you guys on an errand before," his fingers tightened on her skin, pinching the skin with his thumb and forefinger. "You lied to me. And now I see you holed up in your room with some other guy," he pinched her harder. Madison bit her lip as a few whimpers escaped her mouth.

---

Nick stomped down the stairs and found Vida in the kitchen.

"How could you do that?" He demanded.

"Do what?" Vida asked.

"Let Ben up to see her," he answered. Vida closed her eyes.

"Nick, stop."

"I'm sure you guys are just so sure that she's fine. Fine, maybe I'm being a jealous jerk and making this up. But can't you at leas think about it? Your sister starts getting hurt a lot around the time she's dating this guy,"

"Nick, stop, please," Vida begged.

"Your sister is hurting, can't you see that? Aren't you just wondering a little bit about all these bruises and cuts and her convenient stories to explain them?"

"Stop it!" Vida yelled. "I can't think about it, all right! I don't want to think that!" Nick took a step away from her, surprised. "I don't want to think that some guy is hurting her,"

"Just because you don't want to think it, it doesn't mean it can't be happening," Nick said. Vida shook her head.

"No, okay? No. She told me…"

"Told you what?"

"She told me nothing was wrong! She told me she'd tell me if something was wrong, and she said that nothing was. So just stop trying to make me doubt her, alright?" She leaned back against the kitchen counter, forcing herself to calm down. "Besides, if you're so sure he's hurting her, why the hell did you just leave her alone with him?"

"I…."

"What?"

"She asked me to," Nick replied defeated. "I thought….I thought that if I just left…..maybe he'd leave her alone." He slammed his fist on the counter before taking a seat at the table. "It's happening again," he muttered.

"What?" Vida asked. "What's happening again?" Nick raked his fingers through his hair.

"Back when….when my sister was in college," he said. "She was dating this guy….he was a little older than her. She was a freshman, he was a junior. She used to come home for vacation with….bruises," he said. "My parents and I asked her about them and she'd say she was slipping in the shower or……tripped while she was out jogging. Then, Christmas break when she was a sophomore, she brought the guy home with her. She just….was so different around him. He'd order her around sometimes…..and she'd just do it. And then…….New Years Eve……we had some family and friends at the house and she was talking to some of her guy friends from high school……I remember midnight coming along and I didn't see them. So I went to her room………I saw him slap her and call her all these awful names. I tried to protect her and told him to leave her alone but…..he was a college senior. I was just this nine year old kid. He just pushed me back. She told me to just leave them alone. She said I was just making things worse…..So I left…"

"What happened?" Vida asked. Nick shook his head.

"I don't know…..My school started up again but they didn't have to go back to school for another week……I think…….I think my dad came home early from work and saw…….something, I don't know what. All I know is I got home from school and there were cop cars at our house and they were taking the guy away."

"So, this isn't just some jealousy thing?" Vida asked. Nick leaned back in the chair.

"Maybe…..seeing Madison with bruises and stuff brought all that past up again for me and I just instantly thought of that. But I'd feel better if I knew for sure that wasn't going on."

"Fine," Vida said. She left the kitchen. Nick got up and followed her. 

"What?"

"You want to know for sure, so let's go upstairs and check on them," Vida said as she made her way up the stairs with Nick behind her. They got to the door to the bedroom and slowly opened it enough for both of them to see in through a crack. They saw Madison lying in bed with the covers up to her chin like they had left her and Ben lying next to her, holding her.

"I love you," they heard him say to her. Vida quietly closed the door and looked at Nick.

"See?" she said. Nick sighed as the two walked to the living room. "Look, Nick, I'm sorry your sister had to go through that, and I'm sorry all of this is making you relive the past, but Madison's okay," Vida said. "You heard him, he loves her. He's not hurting her."

"Fine, I guess you're right," he said.


	5. Say You're Right Again

Disclaimer: Nope, don't own anything…..Well; I guess making up Nick's sister and her ex-boyfriend's names is my doing.

Note: Thought about giving Nick's sister the same name I gave her in To Myself I Turned, but decided against it, since that might suggest this story and that one are connected, which they aren't. So, new name!

---

_I see the way you go and say you're right again,  
say you're right again  
heed my lecture_

Nick walked into his house. After he and Vida had looked in on Ben and Madison, he had left. He wasn't sure if he was relieved or not at seeing Ben lying in bed with Madison and holding her closely. But, a part of him did feel better at knowing he wasn't hurting her…….almost. He half expected to see Ben hurting her. Visions of that New Years Eve all those years ago filled his mind, except now he could do more than just tell him to stop. He would've busted in the room and made him stop. He would've hurt him, give him a taste of his own medicine.

"Nick? Is that you?" He heard his sister call from the kitchen. Nick laughed lightly.

"Who else could it be?" He asked as he walked in the kitchen. He found his sister standing by the stove, stirring something in a skillet with a spatula. She looked at him and smiled.

"I don't know," she said. "Maybe the man of my dreams magically entered the house and was coming to sweep me off my feet," she joked. Nick gave her a smile. "You hungry? I'm making some Hamburger Helper,"

"Yeah," he said.

"All right, set the table," she said. Nick rolled his eyes as he went to gather plates for the dining room table.

"Amy, I don't get why we need to _set_ the table. It's just the two of us. Why don't we just each grab our own necessities?"

"Because we are civilized human beings and our dinner table will be set," she said. Nick rolled his eyes and did as he was told.

"Okay, mom," he joked. Amy fixed him with a playful glare as she whipped out the spatula from the skillet and pointed it at him.

"Hey, I **am not** mom," she said, sauce from the meal she was cooking dripping off the cooking instrument and splattering on the floor.

"Right," Nick said. "Mom would make me set out doilies," he said.

"Exactly," Amy replied.

"You're dripping," Nick pointed out. Some time later, both brother and sister sat at the table eating their dinner. "Hey, Amy?" Nick asked.

"Yeah?"

"Do you ever think about that guy?" He asked.

"What guy?"

"That guy……..from when you were in college…….you know…..the one……" He paused, unsure how to say the words.

"Theo?" Amy asked. Her eyebrows rose up gently.

"Yeah….do you?" He asked. Amy looked down at her plate, picking at her food with her fork. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have…" Nick sighed. "That was terrible of me," he said.

"No, no, Nicky," she said, looking up at him. "No, its okay. I'm just….surprised you asked about him. It's been almost ten years."

"I'm sorry," Nick said, apologizing.

"Don't be sorry," she said, giving him a smile. "I'm okay. I've long since passed the time that talking about him puts me in some weepy state or something." She sat back. "Do I think about him? Sometimes," she admitted. "I spent over a year with that guy and all his issues, so it's hard to just completely forget about it. Am I still distraught over the situation? No. I see it as sort of…….a mistake that I made and I learned from it." She looked at him. "Anyway, what brought this on?" She asked. Nick looked down.

"I don't know……I guess I've been thinking about it lately," he admitted.

"Why?"

"Well, I have this friend who-"

"Is this one of those things were you say your friend has a problem, but 'friend' is just code for you and in reality you're the one with the problem but you just don't want talk about it?" She asked. Nick laughed.

"No, this really is about my friend," he said.

"All right, go on," she said.

"Well……this friend, she…"

"Oooh, a girl, I'm definitely listening now," Amy smirked. Nick gave her a look. "Okay, okay, sorry."

"Like I was saying, she's got this boyfriend," he said. "And…….I don't know, ever since I met him I just got……..a weird vibe from him…….and……she and this guy have been together for a few months already. Anyway, for the past…maybe two months or so, she's been seeming to have these sort of 'accidents'," he said, bringing his hands up and twitching his fingers into air quotes.

"What do you mean?" Amy asked.

"Well, she shows up with a bruise or a cut or something, and if someone asks her about it, she says she fell down…..or bumped into something…"

"You guys think it's the boyfriend?" Amy asked. "Nick, what's the girl's name? Do you want me to talk to her parents or something?"

"No, no, I……I don't know," Nick said. "These past few days, I've been feeling pretty sure that that was the case. We all got in a fight yesterday because of it," he said. "Two of her friends and her sister didn't think that was going on and she told me that wasn't going on……only with elevated voice tones and a few glares thrown here and there. And…..I don't know…….I was over at her house earlier and her sister and I went to check on her and the boyfriend and things seemed to be going okay……So…..I really don't know what's going on. I mean…could it be happening? Am I just….I mean, is she just becoming a bit more accident prone, but…I'm remembering what happened to you and my head is blowing it all of proportion? Or.."

"Or what?"

"Well, they all seem to think I'm just jealous,"

"Jealous?"

"There might be a slight possibility I might see this girl as more than a friend,"

"Ah," Amy said.

"So, I don't know, is this all just in my head?" Nick asked. Amy put her elbows up on the table and bridged her hands by her mouth.

"Hmm," she said. "To be honest, I can't say," she said. "I mean, have you ever seen him hurt her?"

"No," Nick said. "Never."

"Has he ever said anything bad to her?"

"Like what?" Nick asked.

"Like, insulted her, or put her down?" Amy looked down. "Theo did that, he used to say…well, nothing I care to repeat, but let's just say they were things I wouldn't even say to my worst enemy."

"Well, no," Nick said. "At least not that I've seen……….but he hangs around a lot…..where we work…..and she seems...different….kind of withdrawn….reserved. I mean, Madison's never been incredibly outgoing or anything but still,"

"Madison?" Amy asked. "Madison…….as in the girl you met when you first got here and haven't stopped talking about since?" Amy grinned. Nick rolled his eyes.

"Amy, please, can we save the tease the little brother routine for later?"

"All right, I'm sorry," she said. She sighed. "He might just be insecure and possessive…….not that the latter's a good thing,"

"Was Theo possessive?'

"Oh yeah," Amy said, remembering back to that time. "That led into every thing else……When we first got together, I was so enamored by everything. I mean, a junior, noticing a lowly freshman like me was pretty major. By the time everything else started….I just…didn't know how to get away. Most of the people I had met at school were through him. I didn't want to be all alone and without friends," she sighed. "He'd tell me he loved me." Nick had been just about to put his fork in his mouth and stopped.

"He what?" Nick asked.

"After…….ya know…..he'd say he was sorry, hug me, kiss me, and say he loved me, and I believed him. Pretty stupid, huh?" Nick's eyes narrowed.

"Wait, he'd do all that _after_ he hit you?"

"Yeah…." Amy said. Nick quickly jumped to his feet as if a bolt of lightening had struck the seat of his pants.

"Amy…..I left Madison alone with her boyfriend in her room….I was talking to Vida for a while before we checked on them…."

"Wait, Nick, just because that's what happened to me, doesn't mean……." She paused as she realized what he must've been thinking. "Nick," she said, trying to calm him down. "You can't blame yourself,"

"It's just like before!" Nick yelled, stomping off to the living room. Amy got up from the table and followed, finding him sitting on the couch with his head in his hands. "I left her alone with him. I knew I didn't trust him and I left her alone," he said. Amy gave her brother a sympathetic sigh and sat with him, rubbing his back. "She told me to leave and I just did……I should've stayed……I shouldn't have listened……..I should've told mom and dad…."

"Mom and dad?" Amy asked. She sighed again as realization dawned on her. She rested her head on his shoulder as she hugged him gently. "Nicky I never blamed you for that night, and you shouldn't either. I was scared. I saw him push you and I thought…I thought that he might hit you too," she said. Nick lifted his face from his hands and looked at her. "And as for telling mom and dad," she sat back a bit. "You were nine; I didn't expect you to do anything. It wasn't you're job to save me, kiddo. I needed to do that on my own. So, you need to ask yourself this, are you just creating this situation so you can save her, because of what happened to me?"

"I don't know," Nick said helplessly. "Something just doesn't feel right…..and that isn't just some jealousy thing."

"Then you should just keep looking out for her," Amy said. "Just be her friend and don't be overly judgmental about the guy. I ended up losing a lot of my own friends because of that. They'd try and tell me that Theo wasn't a nice guy, I'd get defensive and we'd stop talking. Just be there for her and look out for anything definite." She tightened her arms around him. "But don't beat yourself up about things like this. You can only help someone if they're willing to let themselves be helped. And if Madison is really going through this she's probably thinking she can fix this on her own right now. Eventually, she'll realize that she'll need help and that's when you can swoop in and be all gallant," she said, smiling.

"I don't like the whole eventually thing. Eventually just means she'll keep getting hurt,"

"I know," Amy said. "But, tell me, when you voiced your concerns, what happened?"

"She yelled at me, told me I should just leave town and butt out of her life,"

"So obviously the direct approach doesn't work," Amy pointed out. "Don't get me wrong, if she keeps getting these mysterious bruises, you forget the waiting game and swoop like a fricken kamakazi, understand?"

"Yeah," Nick said. "Is that what dad did?" Nick asked.

"What?"

"Is that what dad did when he found Theo…"

"Well, if you consider kicking the guy in the teeth swooping, then yes," Amy said.

"Go dad," Nick muttered.

"Nick, if she is going through this, once it's over, she's going to need you guys more than ever," Amy told him. "She's going to have moments of weakness where she'll try and go back to him or make herself believe it's her fault things went wrong. You need to be there for her and help her get through it,"

"Yeah," Nick said. He put a hand on her leg. "I'm sorry you went through all those things. I wish I-"

"Nick, don't go there. You were a kid back then. You did as much as you could and I'm happy that you tried to help me. Like I said, I don't blame you for anything," she said. She reached up and held his face in her hands. "Madison's lucky she has someone like you in her life," she told him. Nick smiled at his sister's praise.

---

Back at the Rocca house, Vida finally asked Ben to leave so that Madison could get some rest. He seemed hesitant at first but finally agreed. Vida had Madison eat a few bites of a sandwich she had made her before letting her sister fall asleep. The following morning, Vida woke up early and lay in bed, starring at her sister's sleeping form. She was glad that it was again Saturday, knowing that there was no way Madison could go to school in her condition. Vida slowly crept out of bed and knelt beside her sister's bed, gazing at her intently. A part of her still held onto that seed of doubt Nick had planted in her head even after the two of them saw Madison and Ben together. A part of Vida believed if she stared at her sister long enough some sort of answer would magically appear. A neon sign would emerge from behind Madison or maybe it would become written on her face. But there were no answers.

"Vida?" Vida blinked and looked at her sister, seeing she had just woken up. Vida smiled and put a hand on her sister's shoulder.

"Hey, how are you feeling?"

"Hmm, much better to be honest," she said. "I guess those leaves really work,"

"Here, get on your stomach so I can see," Vida asked. Madison seemed reluctant at that. Maddie, I just want to make sure that your back's okay."

"Alright," Madison said. She turned onto her stomach and folded her arms underneath her pillow. Vida climbed up onto the bed and pulled back the covers before inching Madison's shirt up to her back. She saw the leaves on her sister's back had tried up in the night. They looked like three large dried flower petals attached to Madison's body. Vida carefully pulled the leaves off of her, making sure not to touch the bruise on her sister's back. Vida was happy to see that the redness around the bruise was gone, and the bruise itself had lost some of its dark ominous coloring. "How does it look?" Madison asked.

"Better," Vida said. She sat back as Madison turned over and sat up on the bed. Vida's brows furrowed as she saw a red mark on Madison's arm. "Did you have that yesterday?" She asked. Madison looked at her arm.

"Hmm, I must've…"

"Fallen down?" Vida asked, her mind expecting Madison's usual response to a question like that.

"No, I must've slept on my arm in a funny way last night,"

"Maddie, that's your left arm. You slept on your right side last night,"

"Vida, what's going on?" Madison asked. Vida blinked and shook her head.

"Nothing, I'm sorry," she said. "So, ready to head off to work?"

"Actually, I was thinking about taking the day off," Madison said.

"Oh, want to rest some more?" She asked. "I can ask for the day off too if you want some company,"

"No, last night, Ben said he'd come over today and we'd hang out here,"

"Madison……I….."

"What?"

"Mom and dad are out of town…….I don't know if I'm comfortable with you being alone in the house with a guy," Vida said. Madison laughed and rolled her eyes.

"Don't worry, sis, we'll behave ourselves," she joked.

"You're behavior isn't what I'm worrying about," Vida muttered.

"What was that?"

"Nothing," Vida said. "Why don't you guys come by the store? We can all go out for lunch or something. You know, the rest of us haven't had time to really get to know Ben, maybe it's about time we did,"

"I'll suggest it, I guess," Madison said. "But we might just want to be alone,"

"Do you really want to just stay in the house all day though? I mean, why don't you guys have a picnic in the park or something….or go to a movie…"

"Vida, what is up with you?" Madison asked. "What, going to whip out a chastity belt next or something?"

"How about an electrified fence?" Vida said, only half jokingly. Madison rolled her eyes.

"I'm going to take a shower," Madison said as she got up and left the room.

---

Later on, Vida walked into the store after practically being shoved out of the house by her sister. As soon as she walked in, Toby caught sight of her and walked over.

"Hey, how's your sister?" He asked.

"Uh, she's still a little puke-y," Vida said. "So, she'll be taking the day off,"

"Of course. Listen; tell her I hope she feels better soon,"

"Will do Tobes," she said. Vida went to walk over to the turn tables when she saw Nick helping an elderly woman. She walked over to him. "I need to talk to you," she said to Nick. Nick looked at her before looking at the customer.

"Ma'am, I need to take care of something that just came up, but my friend Chip over there will be more than happy to help you find something for your grandson." He told her.

"Thank you, dear," the woman said as she approached Chip. Nick turned back to Vida.

"What's up?" He asked.

"Not here," she said. She grabbed the sleeve of his shirt and pulled him to the back room of the store. She shut the door behind her and looked at him.

"What is it?"

"What if I told you I've begun to think about what you said?" Vida asked.

"What do you mean?" Nick asked. Vida sighed and began pacing around the room, raking her fingers through her hair over and over gain.

"I……I don't know. This morning, I saw a mark on her arm……And I'm pretty sure I didn't see it there last night……Before she was alone with Ben…….But……we checked on them, I mean, they we're okay. He was okay; he was just lying there next to her. I asked her about it this morning and she got kind of defensive,"

"You think he hurt her while we were talking?" Nick asked. He was glad to see that someone else was beginning to see things like he was. It told him that this wasn't all in his head……Then again; a part of him had hoped it had been in his head, for Madison's sake.

"Yes…….No……I don't know.." Vida said. She suddenly stopped pacing. "You know what; she might've just scraped her arm on something when Xander was carrying her,"

"But you said you didn't see it last night," Nick pointed out.

"Well, I wasn't too concerned about her arms last night; I might've overlooked it,"

"Vida," Nick said. Vida sighed.

"I……I don't know Nick……I……..I mean, a part of me thinks that you're right….but then another part of me doesn't want you to be right……"

"Vida, I don't want to be right either," Nick said. He took a deep breath. "So, where is she?"

"Home," Vida said. "…..Ben's supposed to be coming over." Nick stared at her with wide eyes.

"You're leaving her alone with Ben? Vida!"

"I tried, okay!" Vida yelled. "I tried to get her to come out to lunch with us, I tried to get her to at least maybe go out in public……..She accused me of thinking they were going to have sex or something," Vida slumped down on one of the chairs in the room before leaning against her knees and putting her head in her hands. "I can't do this, Nick!" Nick went over to her and put a hand on her back. "He said he loves her, we both heard it…..How could he be…?"

"My sister told me that that's what happened with her and that guy. He'd hurt her and then tell her he loved her." Vida got up and stared at him.

"So, you're saying……that mark….." The thought that Ben might've hurt Madison while she and Nick were just in another room brought a vile tasting lump into Vida's throat. At first, when she saw the mark on Madison's arm the thought had entered her mind but she had quickly dismissed it. But now, it stayed tethered in her mind. "Oh god, I think I'm going to be sick," she said, falling back onto the chair. Nick quickly crouched down and held her by her arms.

"Vida, just go home," he told her. "I'll cover for you with Toby, just go home," he told her sternly. Vida nodded numbly.

"Okay, okay," she said. "Toby thinks she's just sick, so you can use that," she said.

"Just go," Nick said. He gently pulled her up to her feet. She reached into her back pocket and pulled out her car keys as she rushed out the door, jetting past Toby on her way out of the store. Nick walked out of the store and saw Toby give him a questioning look. "Madison called," Nick said before Toby had a chance to ask anything. "She said she wasn't feeling great,"

"Oh," Toby said.

---

Vida walked into her house, her eyes scanning the living room for signs of……well anything.

"Maddie?" She called out. Her ears perked up as she heard a loud thumb come from upstairs. She bolted up the stairs and made her way to the door to her bedroom.

"Ben! Oh my gosh, stop it!" Vida could hear Madison's voice from outside. Vida nearly shoved the door off its hinges as she burst into the room.

"Get your hands off my sister!" She screamed.

"Vida?" She heard Madison asked. She looked down at the floor of the room and stepped back in surprise at the sight. On the floor between her and Madison's bed lay Ben with Madison on top of him.

"Wh...What the hell's going on here?" Vida asked. Madison slowly climbed off of Ben and stood up, looking at her sister as Ben used the edge of Madison's bed as leverage as he pulled himself up.

"We were just horsing around," Madison said, still confused by her sister's outburst.

"I heard something downstairs,"

"We……kind of fell off the bed…" Ben admitted sheepishly. Vida looked at her sister, searching her for any visible marks with her eyes.

"What about the screaming?"

"He was tickling me. Oh my god, Vida, what's with the third degree?"

"I'm sorry. I hear my sister screaming and I get a little curious," Vida retorted.

"What are you doing here anyway?" Madison asked. Vida's eyes shifted to the side.

"I had to get some money……..I owe Nick ten bucks and I promised I'd pay him back today…..Took some from the emergency stash mom and dad left us, I'll replace it later."

"Fine," Madison said, her tone close to snapping at her sister.

"Right. Sorry about……I should go," Vida said as she left the room and went down the stairs. Madison groaned and went after her.

"Vida, what was that all about?" Madison asked as she went down the stairs behind her.

"Nothing, nothing," Vida said as she reached the landing and made her way to the front door.

"You busted in there like some sort of commando, and then say it's nothing?" Madison asked, still following her. Vida spun around to face her.

"I was worried, okay?"

"About what?"

"About.." she trailed off as she saw Ben come down the stairs and join her. "Burglars,"

"What?" Madison asked.

"I was worried that someone would break into the house……you were here all alone when I left and…"

"Burglars? In broad daylight on a Saturday?" Madison asked. Vida laughed.

"Yeah, seems kind of stupid now that I think about it," she said. "I should probably go get back to the store," she said. She went to leave when she paused, an idea striking her. She turned back to Madison and Ben.

"Ben," she said, looking over her sister's shoulder to look at him. "When I was driving over here I kept hearing this weird…clunking sound in my car……I'm kind of not feeling to great about driving it around anymore……Do you think you could give me a ride back to the store?"

"Sure, I guess," Ben said. "Let me just get my keys from upstairs," he said, leaving the sisters alone again. Madison looked at her sister.

"Weird clunking sound?" She asked.

"Yeah…..I think it might've been the engine……but it could've been something wrong with the brakes…"

"Okay, let's go," Ben said as he came back downstairs. The three of them left the house and made their way to Ben's car.


	6. She Falls To The Ground

Disclaimer: Nope, don't own.

Note: Okay guys, we're nearing the end. This chapter is going to have a lot of strong violence and horrible language. I just feel you should be warned before proceeding.

---

_Do you feel like a man  
when you push her around?  
Do you feel better now as she falls to the ground?  
Well I'll tell you my friend, one day this world's going to end  
as your lies crumble down a new life she has._

Ben drove the car to The Rockporium and dropped Vida off. He was about to drive away but Vida convinced Madison to come inside, telling her that the others wanted to see her and make sure she was all right. Madison agreed and the three entered the store. Nick was standing near some shelves and saw them walk in. He gave a short relived smile when he saw Madison follow Vida in, but it disappeared quickly at the sight of Ben. Vida caught sight of Nick and walked over to him. She put her hand in her pocket and then took it out, putting her hand in his as if she were handing him something.

"Here's the ten bucks I owe you," she said. Nick looked down, realizing that all he could feel was her fingers in his. "Play along," Vida whispered through clenched teeth.

"Oh, thanks," Nick said lowly. Ben and Madison stood by the counter as he looked over to them. "Hey Madison, how are you feeling?" He asked. Madison's eyes widened a bit at him addressing her before she looked away.

"Madison!" Toby exclaimed, coming over to the couple. "I thought you were still sick."

"Oh, uh, no, I'm feeling much better now," Madison said. Ben gave a wide smile and snaked his arm around her waist, pulling her close to him.

"Nothing a little TLC couldn't cure," he said. Nick tightened his hands into fists at the sight of Ben touching her. Vida grabbed Nick's arm and dragged him the back room with her, nearly knocking Chip and Xander down in the process.

"Whoa," Chip said. "What was that about?"

"Not a clue," Xander said. The two of them approached Toby, Madison and Ben. "Hey, feeling better?" Xander asked. Madison simply nodded. Toby put a hand on Madison's shoulder.

"Hey, you tell me if you plan on starting a petition to close down that restaurant, all right? I'll do what I can to help."

"Uh……okay……thanks, I guess?" Madison asked. Toby smiled at her before walking away.

"I'm so glad to see you're feeling better," Chip said. He took Madison's hand and pulled her close, giving her a hug. "We were all really worried," Madison stiffened against him and simply patted his shoulders.

"Thanks, Chip," she said. As soon as he released her, she went back to Ben.

---

In the backroom, Nick was now the one pacing.

"I can't stand seeing that guy touching her," Nick growled. "I just…"

"Look, I got them here, so maybe we can keep an eye on them," Vida said.

"We? What can I do? You saw her, she barely acknowledges me. And l swear, if I have to even look at that bastard, I'll knock his teeth down his throat."

"Well we've got to do something to keep them here," Vida said. "I had to make up some story about my car just to get Ben to drive me back here," Nick sighed and leaned against the file cabinet in the room.

"Okay, you……tell Madison you want to listen to a new music mix of yours…….and Ben….."

"Xander," Vida said, thinking of something.

"What?"

"We need Xander. He can keep Ben away from Madison," she said. Nick seemed skeptical but simply stood back as he watched Vida leave the room and return shortly with Xander.

"Vida, what's going on? You tell me we need to talk about Chip's surprise party………..but Chip's birthday isn't for another five months,"

"We need you to distract Ben," Nick said.

"Excuse me?" He asked.

"Don't ask questions, just do it, please?" Vida asked. "Just….pull him aside and talk to him or something…..Just keep him away from Madison,"

"What's this all about?" Xander asked.

"Nick's assumptions might not have been……….totally wrong…" Vida replied. Xander shook his head.

"No way," Xander said. "Vida, I can't believe you let him talk you into believing that,"

"Thanks man, I feel really appreciated," Nick said sarcastically." Xander sighed.

"I'll do it. I don't agree with you guys, but I'll do it." Vida thanked him. The three of them left the room. Nick went to work on sorting some CDs, keeping a watchful eye over what went on. Vida pulled Madison aside and let her to the turntables. As Ben tried to follow, Xander put an arm around his shoulders exclaiming how they needed to get to know each other before leading the young man to the couches in the back. Chip shrugged and went back to work. For about an hour, Vida and Xander kept the couple occupied. Xander even dragged Chip into the fray at one point when Ben tried to go over to Madison and Xander called Chip over, saying he also needed to get to know their friends boyfriend. After a while, Ben finally got up and went over to Madison.

"Hey, let's go," he said.

"Okay," Madison said. "I'll see you later V," she said.

"Wait, Maddie, I-" Vida protested but Ben and Madison were gone. Nick, Chip and Xander went over to her.

"You tried," Nick said, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"Can someone tell me why I just had to sit through Xander making Ben tell me his life story?" Chip asked.

"Why don't you ask Nick and Vida, they're the paranoid ones," Xander said, crossing his arms.

"Xander, come on, you saw Madison's bruise yesterday," Nick said.

"Yeah, that was when that thing kicked her," Xander said.

"Xander, I thought that too……But come on, that thing was huge," Vida said.

"Well, Vida, in case you've forgotten, that monster was pretty huge too," Xander said.

"Wait, what's going on?" Chip asked.

"Look, last night I put Maddie to bed and Nick came over and stayed with her for a while, and then Ben showed up. Ben and Maddie were alone for a while Nick and I were talking. This morning, I saw this like……welt on her arm…..and I don't remember seeing it before. Now, you didn't bump her into anything when you were carrying her, did you?" She asked.

"Of course not, I was beyond careful," Xander said.

"Then how else can you explain it?" Nick asked. Xander opened his mouth to respond, but in reality, couldn't think of anything. His eyes narrowed and he glared at Nick. Before anyone could react, he grabbed the collar of Nick's work shirt. "Then why did you leave her alone, you idiot!"

"Xander, it wasn't his fault," Vida said. She reached over and tried to pry Xander's fingers away from Nick's shirt. "I'm the one who let Ben go up and see her…..I didn't know.." Xander let go of Nick.

"What am I saying? This is all a bunch of nonsense. You guys are crazy if you think Madison would actually let this happen," Xander said before walking away. Chip looked at Nick and Vida.

"Well, Chip, what do you think?" Vida asked. Chip sighed.

"I don't know,"

---

Madison and Ben were driving back to her house when he turned to her.

"What was all that before?" He asked.

"What?"

"Nick, Toby, Xander and Chip," he replied, as if that was enough of an answer.

"What? They're my friends, they were worried about me," she said. Ben pulled up in front of the house and shut off the car before the two of them got out.

"It didn't friendly to me," Ben said. Madison opened the front door and walked in.

"Ben, you're being paranoid," she said. Madison gasped as an explosion of pain erupted between her shoulder blades, knocking her onto her stomach on the ground.

"What did you say?" Ben growled. Madison slowly sat up and looked up at him.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean that," she said. Ben grabbed her arm and dragged her to her feet. "Ben, please," she begged.

"Shut up!" Ben yelled. He shoved her into the living room, making her collide with the coffee table. She fell on it, her back hitting the wooden surface before she rolled onto the carpeted floor.

"Ow!" Madison said. Ben stalked over to her and pulled her to her feet by her hair.

---

Back at the Rockporium, the others were going about normal business when their mystic cell phones went off. Nick and Vida pulled theirs out and looked at each other.

"I've never been so happy to hear that sound in my life," Vida said. Nick nodded; agreeing that a monster fight meant Madison would be with them. The four teens gathered together and ran out of the store. "See ya, Toby," Vida called out. Toby groaned and rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, yeah," he said.

"Maddie'll meet us at Rootcore," Nick said as the two made their way.

---

Madison lay huddled on the floor in the living room. After Ben had yanked her to her feet by her hair, he proceeded to slap and punch her in the face before shoving her to the wall where she slid to the floor. She curled up in a ball as Ben kicked her.

"You're sleeping with all of them, aren't you?" He yelled at her.

"No, I swear," Madison protested weakly.

"You come off as some pristine little good girl but you're really just a pathetic slut!"

"No," Madison said. She heard the faint chimes from her mystic phone.

"And what the hell is that?" Ben demanded. "Every time you hear that thing go off you run off somewhere. What is one of your other boyfriends calling you?"

"No, you're the only one," Madison said.

"You lying whore," Ben yelled as he kicked her again.

---

Nick, Xander, Chip and Vida all arrived at Rootcore.

"Is Madison here?" Nick asked Udonna the second they arrived. She looked at them and shook her head.

"No," she said. Vida paled slightly.

"She's probably having some trouble getting away from Ben to get here," Xander said.

"That's what I'm worried about," Vida said.

"V, you know that's not what I mean," Xander sighed. Chip put a hand on Vida's shoulder.

"I'm sure she's on her way," he assured her.

"Rangers, one of Imperious' monsters is attacking at the city plaza, we do not have time to wait for her," Daggeron said, approaching them.

"We'll tell her to meet you guys there," Clare said. Daggeron and the rangers left Rootcore.

"I'd feel better if I called her," Nick said, pulling his mystic phone out as they made their way to the destination.

---

Ben had pulled Madison up to her feet again, twisting her arm behind her back.

"All you do is lie," he growled, twisting her arm some more and making her cry out in pain. The phone went off again. Ben reached into Madison's pocket and pulled it out.

"No, Ben, wait," Madison protested.

"Shut up!" He said. He opened the phone and placed it to his ear.

"_Maddie? Maddie where are you? Are you okay? Where are you? Come to the City Plaza, okay?"_ Ben's fury escalated at the sound of Nick's voice. He slammed the phone shut and threw it across the room. Madison watched helplessly as the object hit the wall and fell into shattered pieces onto the floor.

"I knew it!" Ben yelled, throwing her at the coffee table again. This time, Madison's foot tripped on the carpet and she fell on her side, her cheek slamming into the edge of the table as she went down.

---

"Well, where is she?" Vida asked.

"I don't know, I heard her pick up but she didn't say anything and then the call just ended,"

"She's probably already there waiting for us," Xander said.

---

"Ben, please…..stop…." Madison begged, her face streaming with tears as blood trickled out of her nose, mouth and the cut on her cheek from when she hit the coffee table. He simply hit her face again. "No, Ben, please," Madison sobbed. Ben picked her up and slammed her onto the coffee table.

"I love you, Madison," he said as he towered over her. "Why do you make me do this?"

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry, please, Ben. I'll change, I swear," she sobbed. Ben's hands slid up to her neck as he leaned over her, pressing his body to hers as he kissed her gently. Madison responded to the kiss, praying that this was over. He had accepted her apology and he'd be gentle again.

"I'm sorry, Maddie," he whispered against her lips before his hands tightened around her neck. Madison's eyes widened as she suddenly began having trouble breathing. She opened her mouth to scream but no sound came out. She thrashed wildly beneath him, clawing and pulling at his hands.

"No, Ben, no," she squeaked as his grip only got tighter. Blotches of darkness clouded her vision as she fought to breath before her hands limply fell to her sides and her eyes began to flutter shut. Just as she felt herself on the brink of unconsciousness, she felt Ben's hands release her neck. Madison sucked in gasping breaths as she coughed and turned to her side, forcing Ben to get off of her. She looked up at him with hazy eyes. "Ben," she said. He took hold of her hands and pulled her off the table. He pulled her to him and hugged her closely, burying his face in her hair.

"Promise me, Maddie," he said. "Promise me you'll never talk to Nick, Chip, Xander or Toby ever again. Okay? We can fix things but you have to promise me that, okay?" Madison's chin quivered as she heard his words. _He loves me…._She told herself. _He just……he just doesn't want to lose me….He's just a little jealous…….He loves me, that's why he stopped._ "Will you promise me that, honey?" He asked. _………But……he could've killed me……I could've died……How can he do that to me?_

"No," she said.

"What?" Ben asked. He pulled back and held her at arms length. "What did you say?" His voice edging on that dangerous tone again. Madison sucked on her bottom lip; she could taste her blood on her lip. She shook her head.

"No, I won't," she said. She took in a gasping sob. "I won't promise you anything," she said. Ben's eyes darkened with renewed rage.

"Yes, you will," he said.

"No," Madison said. The next thing she knew, she was being shoved back on the coffee table with such force that her legs went over and she fell off the other side. After that, her entire world seemed to go black.


	7. She Will Tell You That She's Had Enough

Disclaimer: Nope, don't own.

---

_One day she will tell you that she has had enough  
its coming round again._

The rangers and Daggeron quickly defeated the monster. All throughout the fight, Nick and Vida kept looking over their shoulders expecting Madison to show up, but she never did.

"Good work, rangers," Udonna said as they returned to Rootcore.

"Have you heard from Maddie?" Vida asked.

"No," Udonna said.

"Come on," Nick said, grabbing Vida's arm and pulling her along as he ran out of Rootcore.

"What's going on with those two?" Clare asked. Xander and Chip sighed and went to go after their friends.

"Wait up guys," Xander said.

---

The four rangers appeared out of a tree by the Rocca house.

"Guys, maybe Madison's back was still bothering her and she opted to stay out of the fight," Chip said.

"She would've at least showed up at Rootcore," Vida said. She opened the door. "Maddie?" She called out.

"Madison?" Nick called out as well. They all entered the house.

"I'll check upstairs," Vida said as she ran up the stairs. "Maddie?" She called, checking in their room and the bathroom. Nick looked around the living room and paused as something dark caught his eye. He made his way over to the other side of the coffee table and froze. There, lying sprawled out face down on the floor was Madison. "Oh god, Maddie," he whispered as he went to her side. He gently turned her onto her back. Xander and Chip looked over to where Nick crouched down with questioning eyes.

"She's not up here!" Vida called as she ran back down the stairs. She stopped as she saw Nick at the other side of the living room. "Nick?" She asked. "Nick what is it?" She pushed through Xander and Chip and made her way to Nick and gasped. There was her sister……..but…..it didn't look like her sister. Her entire body looked like one giant bruise. Her face had dark splotches and puffy red marks all over and there was dried blood around her nose and the corners of her mouth. "Oh my god," Vida said. Her knees turned to jell-o as she collapsed on the other side of Madison. Chip and Xander finally walked over to see what was going on………And soon regretting that they did.

"……What happened?" Xander asked.

"What do you think?" Nick snapped at his tall friend. Vida sniffled and tried to hold in sobs as she leaned over Madison and took her face in her hands.

"Maddie, Maddie come on, wake up," she said, gently shaking her. "Maddie, please," Vida begged, her voice coming out strained and small. "Wake up!" Vida slumped backwards and wiped at her running nose with a shaking hand. Chip kneeled beside her and enveloped her in a hug. Nick gently touched her face, smoothing her hair out of her face.

"Maddie, wake up," he pleaded. Xander simply stood there, shocked at what he saw before him. "Madison, please." A meek cough emitted from Madison's mouth as she turned her head to the side. She could feel hands on her…..big strong hands. She took a deep breath and screamed, thrashing about and trying to fight Nick off.

"No, stop!" She screamed. "Please!" Everyone's eyes fell on her.

"Maddie, Maddie," Nick said, trying to calm her down. She went on screaming. Nick finally just took her by her shoulders and lifted her up, hugging her to him. "Maddie, its okay, its okay," he whispered in her ear. "It's me." Madison seemed to calm down at this.

"Nick?" She asked, her voice muffled against his chest.

"Yeah, I'm right here," he said. He rocked her gently in his arms. Vida shook herself out of Chip's embrace and crawled over to Nick and Madison. She gently touched Madison's hair with one hand and took hold of her sister's hand with the other.

"We're all here," she said. Madison's fingers tightened around her sister's hand as sorrowful sobs escaped out of her mouth, muffled by Nick's chest.

"I'm so sorry!" She cried. "I'm so sorry!"

"Shh," Vida said. She got closer to her sister and kissed the side of her forehead. She rested her head against her sister's, whispering soothing words to her as Nick rocked her. Chip and Xander got closer to them and sat on either side of Madison, each placing a hand on her leg. They felt her flinch slightly the second they touched her. "Its okay, Maddie, its just Xander and Chip," she said. Madison's muscles relaxed as she just laid there and let herself be held by the four of them. They held her as her sobs died down from frantic wails to slight little hiccups and then there was no sound at all.

"We should probably put her in her bed…or something.." Chip said. He felt so helpless right then and there and the silence as beginning to drive him mad. Vida lifted her head and nodded.

"Yeah," she said. Xander and Chip stood up first and Chip helped Vida to her feet. Nick used one of his hands to push himself up to his knees while he still held Madison close with the other. Once he was on his knees, he put his hand under her knees and held her up as he rolled onto his feet.

"I'll……go get a wash cloth…" Xander said, his voice trailing off helplessly as he washed Nick carry Madison up the stairs with Vida right behind him. Chip looked at Xander.

"Ho……How could this have happened?" Chip asked. Xander closed his eyes.

"I……I don't know……" he said.

----

Chip and Xander went to the room and found Nick sitting on Madison's bed with his legs stretched out on the mattress and his back against the headboard with Madison curled up next to him and Vida lying on the other side of her sister, hugging her from behind. Xander carried a bowl with water and a cloth in it and Chip carried some ice wrapped in a towel. Xander set the bowl of water on the nightstand, figuring it could be used to clean up the blood later. Vida took the ice from Chip and placed it on her sister's swollen cheek. The touch of cold made Madison whimper in protest and burry her face in Nick's side.

"Maddie, you need to put some ice on your face," Vida gently told her sister. "Please," she said.

"Come on, Maddie," Nick said, kissing the crown of her head. He felt Madison nod against him before she slowly turned her head back to how it was before, letting her sister place the towel of ice on her cheek again. Xander and Chip climbed on to the food of the bed and squeezed in between Nick and Vida. It felt like Madison just had hands all over her. She could feel Nick holding her against him by her shoulders and the top of her back, Vida holding the ice to her face with one hand while her other arm was across her sister's torso, Xander had his arm thrown over her thighs and Chip had his around her waist. The scene could've looked incredibly awkward but Madison just lay there, taking comfort from the warmth of their bodies against her. Madison nestled her face into Nick's body as she drifted off to sleep. Vida set the towel of ice on the side of the bed, not caring about the sheets getting wet.

"Hand me the bowl," she said. Nick nodded and reached over with his free hand and took the bowl from the nightstand, carefully passing it to Vida. Chip sat up and held the bowl on his lap with one arm while the other remained on Madison. Vida took the rag, wringing out the access water before she tilted Madison's face towards her and gently wiped away the dried blood at the corners of her sister's mouth before taking care of her nose.

"I'll kill him," Xander said, looking at Madison's beaten form. "I swear to god, I'll kill him," he said.

"Get in line," Nick said, tightening his hold on Madison.

"She's my sister. I get first crack at the bastard," Vida said sadly as she ran the cloth over the rest of her sister's face.

"I say we all just go at him at once," Chip said. "He doesn't deserve a fair fight," The others looked at him, surprised to see their usual jovial and comical friend so determined and angry. The four of them sat with her, quietly formulating their own methods of destruction to the man who had caused all this while wishing they could've been there to stop it. About an hour later, Madison opened her eyes and sat up, detangling herself from Nick's embrace.

"Hey," Vida said. Madison brought her knees up to her chest, making the others release her as well as she put her elbows on her knees and buried her face in her forearms. Vida shifted closer to her sister and put her head on her shoulder, rubbing the broken girl's back. "It's okay Maddie," Vida said. "We're all here and he's never going to hurt you again," she said. Madison gave a soft groan before she got up and climbed over Nick to get out of the bed.

"Maddie?" Nick asked. Madison left the room and walked down the stairs, the others all getting up and following her.

"Maddie, maybe you shouldn't be moving around right now," Chip said. Madison reached the bottom of the stairs and paced about the living room, her body shook as she walked about.

"Please…..Just…..Leave me alone…" She said.

"What?" Vida asked as she and the guys came to a stop on the stairs.

"Just……go away…..please," Madison pleaded. The three guys all looked at each other, not sure if they should comply or not. Vida shook her head vehemently and squeezed past the guys as she went to her sister.

"We are not going away," Vida said, taking a hold of her sister's arm and making her stop. "We're not leaving you alone."

"Vida, please," Madison begged, fresh tears reaching her eyes. "Please……I can't……"

"Can't what?" Vida asked.

"I can't…….I can't stand it,"

"What?"

"I can't stand you all looking at me like that!" Madison yelled, pulling her arm back. Xander, Chip and Nick descended the rest of the stairs and stood behind Vida. Madison looked at the three of them, her eyes narrowing. "You," she spat out. "It's your fault," she said. "Why couldn't you leave me alone?"

"What?" Xander asked, astonished that this had been turned on them. Madison's eyes narrowed even further as her eyes fell on Nick.

"You were the worst one!" She said. She stalked over to him hitting his chest with the palm of her hands. "You made him so angry! Why!" She screamed as her hits became more frantic. Nick simply stood there and let her hit him. Vida looked away as hot angry tears spilled down her cheeks at the sight of her hurt and angry sister. "It's your fault!" She screamed. Chip swooped in and took hold of Madison, pulling her away from Nick.

"Stop it," he said, holding her. "This isn't Nick's fault, or your fault. It's **his** fault," he said sternly. "He's the one with the problem, not you or any one of us," he said.

"No!" Madison protested, squirming in his embrace. "It was my fault," she sobbed.

"No, it wasn't," Nick said, going over to her. "Madison, you can cry and scream all you want, damnit you can hit me until your hands go numb if that'll help you, but don't you dare say this is your fault," he said.

"Yes it was!" Madison said. "I could've stopped it…..I could've fought back……I could've done something!" She broke off into ragged sobs. Vida went over and pulled Madison away from the guys, wrapping her into a tight hug.

"Shh," she said. "Maddie, this isn't your fault. Okay?" This went on for another hour before the five of them sat at the kitchen table. Nick, Xander and Chip sat across from Madison and Vida. Madison's vacant eyes stared at the flat table.

"He told me he loved me," Madison whispered. "I……I thought that…….well, he loves me, so maybe its something that I'm doing wrong that keeps making him hurt me…."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Xander asked. Madison's lips turned up into a sad sort of smile as she looked up at them.

"I was ashamed………I mean, how would it look like…….Me, a power ranger being………." She looked down. "I can go up against any thing the Darkness pits against us without question but let some guy……some normal human being guy hurt me without fighting back? I thought I…………..I thought you'd all laugh at me or something,"

"Laugh at you?" Chip asked. He reached across the table and took Madison's hand.

"I just…….He'd get this look in his eyes and I……….I'd just get so scared……..I couldn't move……I couldn't fight…….All I could do is beg him to stop. What kind of ranger does that make me?" She asked. Vida made her sister lean against her, letting Madison put her head on her shoulder.

"How could you think that?" Vida asked. "Nothing about this is your fault and it doesn't make you less of a ranger."

"He was just so angry today……" Madison said, thinking back to before. "Earlier, things were perfect. We were laughing, horsing around, and then when we got back from the store he started saying all this stuff about Chip, Xander, Nick and Toby. I told him he was being paranoid and he hit me…………He just…………kept hitting me and saying all these awful things. Then when the morpher went off he just kept hitting me and saying those things……and then he grabbed it……and………..I don't know what happened……he just got even more angrier….."

"Oh…..god," Nick whispered, realizing Ben had been the one who picked up when he called.

"He….." Madison continued, tears leaking out of her eyes. "He was choking me…." She whimpered. Vida and Chip tightened their respective holds on her while Nick and Xander's hands tightened into fists. "I thought he was going to kill me………then……he just stopped and went back to normal…Hugging me, calling me 'honey'," there was venom in her voice as she repeated the endearment. "And he made me promise never to talk to the guys ever again……and I said no. I told him I wouldn't promise him anything,"

"That-a-girl," Vida said, smiling gently.

"And then…….he shoved me over the coffee table……and that's the last thing I remember before you guys…"

"It's never going to happen again," Xander said. "He's never going to even look at you again, I promise." Before the others said anything more, there was a knock on the door.

"I'll get it," Chip said. He got up and went to the front door, opening it. His blood seemed to boil at the sight of who was standing on the front porch. Ben simply brushed past him as he entered the house.

"What are you doing here?" He asked.

"Get out," Chip said, glaring at him.

"Excuse me?" He said.

"You heard me, get the hell out," Chip said.

"Whatever man, I'm just here to see my girlfriend," Ben said.

"You mean the girlfriend you tried to kill this afternoon? The girlfriend you left in an unconscious heap on the living room floor?" Chip spat out. Ben looked at him before turning his attention elsewhere and looking up towards the stairs.

"Maddie?" He called out. "Honey, are you home?"

"You sick bastard," Chip growled before launching himself onto the larger man's back. Back in the kitchen, the others heard a commotion coming from the other room. They all got up and saw Chip on Ben's back, his arms around his neck as Ben tried to throw him off.

"Maddie, go upstairs," Vida said, but Madison couldn't even move.

"Get off me!" Ben yelled. He finally was able to toss Chip off of him. Chip landed on his back on the floor, groaning as he sat up, leaning against the back of one of the armchairs in the room.

"Chip," Vida exclaimed worriedly, going over to her fallen friend as Xander charged at Ben, shoving him against the wall.

"You've got a hell of a lot of nerve showing up here after all this," Xander growled as he punched Ben in the stomach. "What, thought you could get a few more punches into Maddie after she regained consciousness!" Ben shoved him away, making him stumble back towards Chip and Vida. Nick launched himself on Ben, the two falling onto the ground in a storm of punches and kicks. Madison simply stood there, watching this all go on. Vida got up from Chip, leaving her injured friend in Xander's care as she went to Madison and pulled her into the kitchen since Ben and Nick's fighting blocked off the stairs. Ben and Nick rolled about on the ground until Nick ended up on top of him. He grabbed Ben by his shirt collar and slammed his fist into Ben's face over and over again. Ben lifted his knee and slammed it into the unsuspecting assailant. The blow knocked Nick to his side as Ben got up. He delivered a kick to his fallen opponent's stomach before going to the kitchen.

"Stay away from her!" Nick forced out as he tried to get up. Ben ignored him as he found the girls in the kitchen. Vida had tucked Madison behind her.

"You stay the hell away from my sister," Vida threatened. Ben ignored her as he looked over her shoulder to Madison.

"Maddie, honey," he said. "I'm sorry about before. I was just upset, I promise, it'll never happen again. I love you," he said. Vida scoffed.

"Love her! Are you severely messed up in the head? Look at her! Look at what you did to her!" Vida screamed.

"I wasn't talking to you," Ben growled.

"Well I'm talking to you, you son of a bitch!" Vida yelled. Ben growled as his hand flew across Vida, backhanding her across the face. Vida fell against the kitchen table before rolling over and falling against one of the chairs, slamming her jaw against it. Madison's eyes widened as she saw her sister fall to the floor. Madison stared at Ben and took several steps away from him. Ben approached her.

"Come on, sweetheart, its okay. I'm sorry about before, I really am,"

"Get away from me," Madison whispered, tears flowing down her face. Ben got closer to her.

"Honey, I know your upset, but-" he began. Madison's backed into the kitchen counter. Her hands flew back to the surface and her fingers curled around the handle of a kitchen knife. Madison quickly held the knife out ahead of her, making Ben stop.

"Upset? You think I'm upset? You could've killed me today…….you hit my sister and you think I'm just upset?" Ben put his hands up.

"O..Okay Madison, this isn't funny," Ben said. Chip, Xander and Nick came into the kitchen with Xander holding Nick up. Chip went over to Vida and helped her sit up. Xander set Nick against the table and joined Chip. Vida groaned and rubbed her sore jaw.

"Its not supposed to be funny," Madison spat out.

"Just put the knife down," Ben commanded.

"No," Madison said. Ben went to take the knife from her but she slashed at him, making a small horizontal cut on his forearm. Ben stepped back, holding his cut arm. "I'm done listening to you. I'm done lying to everyone I care about."

"Madison, you're just upset, you don't know what you're saying," Ben said. Madison shrieked as she charged at him and slammed him into the wall, holding her bent arm at his chest with the knife at his neck. The two stood there. Ben staring at her in wide eyed terror while her body trembled with anger. Her eyes were glazed with such hate and darkness.

"Maddie," Nick said, coming up behind her. "Maddie, put the knife down, he's not worth it," he told her gently, trying to get through to her. Madison slowly stepped away from Ben, holding the knife out at him again.

"Get out," she said. "Get out, or I swear I'll kill you." Ben stepped away from the wall, staring at her. "Get out now!" She screamed. Ben quickly ran out of the kitchen, slamming the door behind him as he left the house. Madison remained standing there, the knife held out as her body trembled. Nick put a gentle hand on her outstretched arm.

"Okay, okay," he said soothingly. "It's over, he's gone," he gently lowered her arm. Madison's fingers released the knife and it fell to the floor with a small clank before she fell back into Nick's arms. Nick grabbed her and guided her to the floor as she held onto him, sobbing. "Its okay, its okay," he told her, stroking her hair as she buried her face in his chest.


	8. This Doesn't Hurt

Disclaimer: Nope, don't own.

---

_Do you feel like a man, when you push her around?  
Do you feel better now as she falls to the grown?  
Well I'll tell you my friend, one day this world's going to end  
as your lies crumble down, a new life she has….  
Face down in the dirt she says, this doesn't hurt she says I finally had enough._

_Face down in the dirt she says, this doesn't hurt she says I finally had enough._

The following day, the rangers brought Madison to Rootcore. Madison was so sick of lying and keeping all that had happened from the ones she loved and decided to tell them. They watched as Udonna held Madison as if she were her own daughter, hugging her and rocking her gently, saddened by the fact that something so horrible had happened to one of the young people she had grown to love these past few months. Clare and Daggeron looked on sadly. Every so often Clare would lightly touch Madison's shoulder, wanting to comfort her friend but unsure of what to do. Udonna offered to give Madison some more Avandra leaves to take care of the bruises but Madison declined the offer. She felt that she needed to see these bruises, not hide them away like she had done before. She needed to see them until they healed on their own, reminding her of the things Ben did to her. Reminding her why she was no longer going to listen to him. She also handed Udonna the broken pieces of her morpher, apologizing as she did so. Udonna shook her head, stroking the girls chin and told her it wasn't her fault before taking it. She set it down on the table and stuck it with her wand and the pieces came back together as if it had never been broken. She handed it back to Madison. Afterwards, the five teens left together. Vida put an arm around her sister's shoulder.

"Mom and dad are coming home tonight," she told her. Madison nodded.

"Yeah……..I know, I have to tell them," she said.

"Hey, I'll be right there with you," Vida said. Madison looked at her sister. There was a light bruise on her jaw from when she fell down the night before. She gently touched the spot.

"I'm sorry," she said. "He shouldn't have touched you,"

"He shouldn't have touched you either, ever," Vida clarified. Chip touched Madison's shoulder.

"Hey, we can be there too when you tell your parents, if you want," he said. Madison smiled and looked at Chip before looking at Nick and Xander.

"Thanks," she said. "But I think I need to take care of this on my own. Just me and my family," she said.

"Are you sure?" Xander asked. Madison nodded.

"Yeah," Madison said. Nick took hold of Madison's hand and gently pulled her towards him.

"You can call us, if you need anything, anything at all," he said. Madison nodded. She hugged him tightly.

"Thank you," she said.

---

After the friends had parted ways, Vida attacked the room she shared with her sister with empty boxes; clearing away all of the things Ben had given Madison.

"Blue dragon, is that one?" Vida asked, picking up the stuffed toy from Madison's book case.

"Yeah," Madison said. "So is the blue teddy bear." Vida nodded and stuffed both in the nearly overflowing box.

"Anything else?" Vida asked. Madison got up from where she was sitting on her bed and walked to her dresser, opening her jewelry box.

"Yeah," she said. She pulled out a few earrings and bracelets and tossed them on the dresser. Vida came over and threw them in the box. Madison stopped as she pulled out the last item, the heart necklace. "The first thing he gave me," Madison whispered. Vida put an arm around her sister's shoulders. "The first time he hit me……………When I came home with my cheek skinned……" Vida put her head on her sister's shoulder and tightened her hold. "The next day, he apologized and gave this to me,"

"You're doing the right thing, sis, Vida said. Madison nodded.

"I know," she said. She stepped back and threw the necklace in box, giving a little more force in her throw. "That felt good," she said, smiling.

"Yeah it did," Vida said, throwing her arms around her sister as the two hugged laughingly.

Later that night, Madison sat against the headboard of her bed, clutching a blue unicorn stuffed animal her parents had given her when she was a child to her body. Vida had one identical to it except it was pink. Vida sat next to her on the bed. They heard the front door open and closed and looked towards the door.

"Girls?" They heard their father call.

"Do you want them to come up here?" Vida asked. Madison nodded.

"We're up here," Vida called out. The parents entered the room.

"Hey girls, we…" Mrs. Rocca's voice cut off at the sight of Madison. "Oh my god, sweetie, what happened?" She asked, rushing over to the bed. Vida got up to let her come over and take a closer look at Madison.

"Vida?" Mr. Rocca asked, catching sight of the bruise on her jaw. Madison looked down.

"I……I have to tell you guys something," she said. Mr. Rocca and Vida joined Mrs. Rocca and Madison on the bed. Madison took a deep breath and told her parents everything. All the things Ben had done to her, all the lies she had told everyone, every thing came out of her. She couldn't bring herself to look at them as she spoke, and once she was done, she finally chanced a look at them. Her mother's eyes were shining with tears and her father's face was red with rage.

"Where is that son of a bitch now?" He demanded. Madison shook her head.

"I….I don't know. Home I guess…"

"I……I can't believe this……..All this time……" Mrs. Rocca said as her tears spilled out. They had welcomed Ben in their home, even had him over for dinner. To them, it looked like this boy loved their daughter immensely, how could they have not known the truth?

"I'm going to kill him," Mr. Rocca growled, getting to his feet. Madison's hands shot out and grabbed his arm.

"No, daddy, please," she said. "I'm never going to see him again,"

"We're going to the police," Mr. Rocca said in a tone that said there would be no question about that. "We are going to the police, god damnit," he said.

"Okay," Madison said, nodding.

"We're getting a restraining order and everything," he said.

"Okay, daddy," Madison said. He sighed and sat down on the bed next to her, stroking her face. The marks on her face only seemed to fuel his anger.

"Oh, baby," Mrs. Rocca sobbed, pulling her daughter close and hugging her tightly. Madison held her mother to her as her tears leaked out.

"I'm so sorry mom," Madison sobbed gently. "I'm so sorry I lied to you,"

"Shh, baby, its okay," Mrs. Rocca said. Mr. Rocca sighed and hugged her daughter from behind. Madison cried as she sat there, sandwiched between her parents. Vida sat back on the bed, watching the scene before her before her mother leaned back and pulled Vida into the hug as well. The Rocca family sat there together, holding onto each other as they hoped for the strength to get through this together.

---

Nick walked into The Rockporium the next day. He saw Vida, Xander and Chip standing by the counter together. Chip had an arm around Vida's shoulders as she talked to them quietly. Nick went over to them.

"Hey guys," he said. They looked at him and opened up their circle to include him. "How's Maddie?" He asked Vida.

"Good…….well……better," Vida said.

"God, you should have seen her at school today," Chip sighed.

"She went to school?" Nick asked, surprised.

"Yeah. Everyone kept staring at her," Xander asked. "We kept telling her she should go home, but I guess she just wanted to go on like normal."

"How was last night?" Nick asked.

"All right," Vida said. "Dad wanted to go over and kill Ben after Madison told him everything. We're going to go file a restraining order against him tonight. Our parents called the cops and a lawyer last night, the whole nine yards."

"That's good," Nick said. He turned to the side and saw Toby and Madison come out of his office. She was still dressed in her clothes from school and was holding her work overshirt in her hand. Nick left the group and approached them as Toby put a hand on Madison's shoulder.

"Madison, if there's anything I can do, don't hesitate to ask," Toby said. Madison smiled.

"Thanks, Toby," she said.

"And if that jerk tries to bother you here, don't worry, I'll take care of him," he promised. Madison smiled again.

"Thanks," she said. Toby pulled her into a hug before walking away, giving Nick a pat on the shoulder as he passed him.

"Hey," Nick said to Madison, walking over to her.

"Hey," she said. She walked to the backroom, Nick following her.

"So, how are you?" He asked. Madison sighed.

"I guess I've got to get used to everyone asking me that, huh?" She asked as they entered the room together. Nick shut the door behind him.

"Sorry," he said.

"It's okay," she said. She walked over to the table in the room and set her work shirt down. Madison pulled off the blue sweater she was wearing, leaving her standing there in her black tank top. Nick's eyes widened at the sight of a large bruise on her shoulder. He hadn't seen it the other night.

"Maddie," he breathed out. He walked over to her, his eyes fixated on the bruise. Madison looked down.

"Yeah…." She said. She numbly lifted her work shirt off the table and pulled it on. Nick reached over and helped her pull it on. "Thanks," she said, she paused as the two stood there, looking deeply into each others eyes. Nick cleared his throat, breaking their joint reverie.

"Uh, are you sure you want to work today?" He asked, stepping back.

"What else is there to do? Sit at home all day?" She asked, shaking her head as she sat down at the table. "Toby said I should go home…….But……I just, don't want to be alone right now…"

"Yeah," Nick said, understanding. "The others told me you went to school," he said. Madison nodded.

"Yeah…….I…….It was weird, people staring, asking questions. Vida kept running interference with the whole thing," she said. "Toby's letting me just take care of some of the store's bookkeeping today. I'm not sure if I can handle working out there and having more people stare at me. It's weird. I don't want to be alone, but I don't want to be around people either," she said. Nick crouched down next to her and put a hand on her leg.

"I understand," he said. Madison wrung her fingers in her hands as she looked down at her lap.

"My parents are putting us all into family counseling," she said. "They…they think it's their fault that they didn't see what was happening. They actually think they've been neglectful parents or something." She sighed and leaned back in the chair. "I feel like everyone around me is blaming themselves…..and it's my fault,"

"Maddie," Nick said.

"No, it is………I mean……I could've told someone…….I **should've** told someone. **You** knew what was going on before anyone else did, and what did I do? I just denied it and even had the gall to get mad at you." She sighed and looked at him. "There's so many people I've got to apologize to……you most of all," she said.

"Maddie, no one expects you to apologize for anything. None of this is your fault," he told her.

"I know……I mean….I know that what Ben did to me wasn't my fault…..But I shouldn't have let it go on so long……And I shouldn't have let him make me treat everyone differently. I just thought that……that if I just kept him happy and didn't give him a reason to be jealous everything would be fine. I became such a horrible person," she said.

"You weren't horrible," Nick said. "You were just scared." Madison sighed again and looked at him.

"How can you be so nice and understanding after all this? Especially after how I treated you?" She asked, thinking about all the times she practically gave him the cold shoulder in effort to keep Ben happy, especially after she found out how he felt about her. "I…..I'm sure you don't still….." She said, her voice trailing off. She shook her head and stood up, making Nick lean back as she walked around the table. "What am I saying, of course you don't," she said. Nick got up from the floor and walked up to her, making her face him. "How could you like someone so pathetic a-" Nick cut her off as he cupped her face in his hands and kissed her lips gently. He then looked at her. Her eyes were lowered to the ground.

"I…..I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that," Nick said. _How could I do that? It's not like she likes me too. _"I'll…..uh…..leave you alone…" he said as he stepped away from her and made his way to the door. Madison's hand shot out as she took a hold of his arm, stopping him.

"Wait," she said. Nick looked at her. "It's not that I don't……….," she said, looking away. She sighed and stepped closer to him, planting a kiss on his cheek. She stepped back and looked at him. "I just can't…….at least not right now……I mean," she stammered. Nick smiled softly, his cheek still tingling from the feel of her lips. He nodded.

"Right…." He said. "I...I understand," he said. He cleared his throat, looking deeply into her eyes. "I can wait," he said. Madison blinked. He was being so understanding.

"……I don't expect you to wait or anything…….I mean, I don't know how long it'll be before I can…" she said, her voice trailing off. Nick took her hand in his, trailing his thumb against the back of her palm.

"Maddie," he said. "I'll wait," he said. _I'll wait forever if I have too,_ he thought. Madison smiled.

"Thank you," she said. The two hugged for a long while before Nick left her. He exited the room and saw Vida standing outside the door with her arms crossed over her chest.

"You break her heart; I'll break your neck, understood?" She asked. Nick nodded. "Good," she said, giving him a smile before walking to the turntables.

---

An hour later Madison was just about to finish all the bookkeeping when Vida poked her head in the door.

"Hey, how's it going?" She asked.

"All right," Madison said, looking up at her. "What's up?"

"Toby's giving us all a break, we're going to go to the ice cream parlor down the street, do you want us to bring you back anything?" She asked.

"Hmm, I think I'll join you guys, I need some fresh air," she said.

"Okay," Vida said. "Are you sure?" She asked. Madison fixed her with a look.

"Yes, I'm sure," she said as she got up and the two sisters left the room to join Xander, Chip and Nick.

"You're coming with us?" Xander asked. Madison nodded as the five of them left the store.

"I'm seriously craving a chocolate…." Her voice trailed off as they came out of the store and saw Ben leaning against is car that was parked across the street. "…milkshake," she muttered.

"What the hell?" Xander said.

"What is he doing here?" Chip asked.

"Oh, I'm going to take care of this," Vida snarled as she went to go at him. Madison grabbed her sister's arm and pulled her back.

"No, I'll do it," Madison said. Nick looked at her. "I need to talk to him," she said.

"Talk to him?" Nick asked. "Maddie, what-"

"I got it," Madison said. "…If things look like they're getting out of hand, you guys have full permission to swoop in," she said, assuring them as she crossed the street.

"Hey," Ben said. He leaned towards her and kissed her, a kiss which Madison didn't return as she simply stood there. Nick's hands clenched shut at the sight of Ben kissing her. "Listen, about last night. I'm sorry about your sister and I forgive-"

"I'm getting a restraining order," Madison blurted out.

"What?" He asked.

"I'm getting a restraining order, I threw out all your gifts and my parents are talking to the cops and we might be taking this to court."

"….Restraining order? Cops? Court? Madison, honey, I-" he said as he went to touch her arm. Madison slapped his hand away.

"You can't call me that ever again," she said, forcing her voice to remain even. "I'm just telling you this because the decent human being in me felt you should know what's going to happen," she said.

"Maddie, look, okay, I get a little angry sometimes. I'm sorry. I can fix it, I promise."

"No, you can't." Madison said. "You can't fix it……at least not on your own. You need help, Ben." Ben grabbed her arm and pulled her into a hug. Nick, Xander and Chip flinched, ready to run across the street and beat the stuffing out of him but Vida kept them back, giving Madison some more time with him alone.

"Okay, okay, you're right Madison, I need help, but you can help me." Ben said to her. "You can help me, please," he begged. Madison closed her eyes.

"No, I can't," she said, pushing him away. Tears filled her eyes. "We're done, Ben," she said.

"Okay, okay, I'll get help. I'll go to anger management, I'll do whatever you want, just-" he begged.

"Just nothing, Ben. Its over. I let you do whatever you wanted for too long. No more. You screwed up, Ben. You screwed up big time, and you need to live with that…..Or don't…….I really don't care. You're nothing to me," a single tear slipped out and she quickly wiped it away. "So just get in your car and drive away,"

"I'm not leaving,"

"You can either leave on your own……or," she said, casting a look behind her at the others. She looked back at Ben. "Goodbye Ben," she said. She turned around and walked back to the others.

"I love you, Madison," he called out to her. Madison stopped and bit her lip. She turned back to him.

"No, you don't." She said. "And you never did," she said. Madison turned back and joined the others as Ben got in his car and drove off angrily. Vida put her arms around her sister and hugged her.

"You okay?" She asked. Madison nodded against her shoulder.

"Yeah. I just really needed to do that," Madison said. Vida let her go as Madison wiped away the remaining tears from her eyes. "So," she said, putting on a smile. "How about that milkshake?" She asked. The others laughed. They all walked down the street. Vida and Chip walked on either side of Madison with their arms around her shoulders and Nick and Xander walked behind them, their hands also on Madison's shoulder as the five of them chatted and laughed together. Madison smiled, feeling genuinely happy for the first time in months.

END

Note: Hey guys, well, there's the end. Hope you guys liked it. Also, there is going to be a sequel dealing with Madison/Nick and Madison getting over the things Ben did to her and moving on with her life. I've going to start writing it in a few days, since I churned this out nonstop in the course of 2-3 days, lol. Need to work on other stuff.


End file.
